Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart
by Assassin master ezio 91
Summary: An AU version of the story of Until Dawn, replacing Emily with an OC. Returning to the lodge after the disappearance of two members of their group of friends, the gang attempt to find closure, but instead find themselves facing horror, death, broken hearts and even, more positively, a rekindled love. But who will survive to see the dawn.
1. Prologue: One Year Ago

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Prologue chapter of a new Until Dawn story, this one will feature an interesting twist, in this story, Emily will not appear, she has been replaced with an OC character, who should make things a little more interesting :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

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**Prologue: One Year Ago**

The snow billowed around the mountain, the moon was high and the night was dark. Standing defiant against the elements was the large building known locally as the Washington Lodge, property of the Washington family; its lights shone bright. Outside the lodge, a mysterious stranger clad in dark clothing stood. He clutched a machete tightly in his hand. Inside the lodge were ten teenagers, all within the age range of seventeen to nineteen.

Right now, the majority of said teens were in the dining room, two of them passed out drunk. The others were all talking quietly amongst themselves, except for one of the girls, who was standing separate from the others.

Three of the occupants of the lodge were the children of the Washington family. The eldest of those was nineteen-year-old Joshua Washington, known as Josh to his friends. He and his sisters all had dark chocolate-brown hair and caramel complexions. Unlike his eighteen-year-old sisters, who were twins, Josh had green eyes. The Washington sisters, meanwhile, had dark brown eyes. One of the sisters, Beth, was in the same room. She was the girl standing separate from the others, looking out the window. Her hair came down to just below her chin, with bangs framing her face. Apart from her hair being longer, down to her shoulders, the other sister, Hannah, was the perfect image of Beth. Hannah was nowhere around right now, while Josh was one of the two boys passed out drunk; the other being his best friend, eighteen-year-old Christopher 'Chris' Hartley, a man with fair skin, short dirty blonde hair worn in a faux-hawk style who also wore a pair of grey rectangular glasses.

The remainder of the friends were all gathering together, further along the room, talking amongst themselves. One of them, a girl of seventeen with green eyes, beige blonde hair in small pigtails, and a bisque complexion, Jessica 'Jess' Riley, was placing a note on the table where it could be found by its intended recipient. It was two in the morning, the group of teens had been partying and enjoying themselves and, some of them quite giddy from the drink, had decided to play a prank on Hannah Washington. The basis of the prank being Hannah's crush on another member of the group: Eighteen-year-old Michael 'Mike' Munroe, a muscular young man with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. This raised some issues, anger especially from Mike's girlfriend Leah Taylor, an eighteen-year-old African-American woman of above-medium height (being the tallest of the girls) with dark brown chin-length hair, brown eyes, light brown skin, and a slender but curvy build. It had been Jessica who had come up with the prank as a means to get revenge, which involved having Hannah find the note, apparently from Mike, luring her to one of the bedrooms where they would trick her into an embarrassing situation which they would get on camera.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you actually did this." Leah remarked to Jessica, her voice shaking with laughter.

Jessica waved a hand, pointing out Beth across the room. "Shh...Shh...Shh."

Leah just smirked and another girl, standing nearby, shook her head.

"Don't you guys think this is a bit cruel?" she said, all too aware of how sensitive Hannah was.

This girl was also eighteen, had fair skin, medium-long blonde hair which she tied in a classic bun style at the back, leaving a few locks framing her face. She also had hazel eyes. This girl was called Samantha Giddings, also known as Sam.

The others turned to her, joined by two others, a boy and a girl, both seventeen. The first was a boy named Matthew Taylor, Matt to his friends, an African-American male with short black hair and brown eyes, and he was Leah's younger brother. The girl was Ashley Brown, a young Caucasian woman with medium-length auburn hair and green eyes.

Jessica shook her head. "Oh come on, she deserves it."

Sam shook her head, replying defensively, "It's not her fault that she has a huge crush on Mike."

"Hannah's been making moves on him." Jess shot back, shaking her head. "I'm just looking out for my girl Leah." She grinned to Leah before they all began leaving the room.

As they walked, Leah spoke up again. "Just because he's class Prez doesn't mean he belongs to everyone. Mike is my man."

Mike sighed and shook his head. "Hey Leah, I'm not anybody's man."

"Whatever you say, darling!" she flirted.

Leah normally wouldn't approve of a trick like this, but she did have a somewhat dark sense of humor. Plus, what girl wouldn't be upset that another girl was in love with their man?

So they all hurried out, heading up to the guest room where their little prank was to take place. Shaking her head, Sam went in a different direction, preparing to find and warn Hannah.

"Hannah!" she called out, desperate to find her before it was too late.

Meanwhile, with Beth looking out the window, Chris and Josh passed out, and Sam searching for Hannah, the others were all in the guest room. They were preparing for the prank, getting into their hiding places. Ashley was hiding behind a partition, Matt in the closet, keeping the door opened enough to film the incident through. Ashley was trying to stifle her giggles, as were Jess and Leah as they hid under the bed. Mike stood by the bed, waiting for Hannah.

Meanwhile, down in the dining room, Beth was looking out the window at the snow.

She bit her lip. 'Wow, it's really coming down. Huh, where has everyone... What the…?'

Her thoughts were cut off as she spotted something outside. It looked like a person, standing out in the snow. The figure turned and left immediately, but Beth saw them and turned quickly.

"Hey...did you see that?" she queried. "Dad said it'd just be us this weekend... Josh?"

No response. She approached her brother and tried to shake him awake, to no avail. She then spotted the beer bottle next to him, amongst others. She picked it up and raised an eyebrow.

"Jeez, Josh." she laughed. "Once again, brother, you've outdone us all."

Shaking her head, she looked around, trying to find the others. It was then that she saw the note on the table and checked it. It was signed by Mike and seemed to be inviting Hannah up to the guest room. The content was somewhat sexual and Beth sighed.

"Oh my God, what did our naive sister get herself into now?"

She shook her head, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Meanwhile, up in the guest room, Leah and Jessica were still giggling when Leah heard the movement and nudged Jess.

"Oop! She's here, shh!" she whispered.

The door opened and Hannah entered. Immediately noticeable in terms of difference of appearance between her and her twin sister was the fact that Hannah wore onyx-black rectangular glasses. She also wore a heart-shaped locket, which was known to contain a picture of her and Beth.

"Mike?" she said quietly, curiously. "It's Hannah."

Mike smiled as he replied, "Hey, Hannah."

Hannah stepped into the room, closing the door and smiling, suddenly awkward.

"I got your note..."

"Glad you could make it." he said, suave and charming. "Maybe we should start with a little, you know, making out, and see where it goes from there."

Hannah bit her lip, suddenly feeling like this was her chance, that she might finally get Mike's attention. As a result, she reacted eagerly, unbuttoning her blouse, starting to remove it, starting to reveal her recent black butterfly tattoo, located on her upper right arm.

Mike's eyes widened and he grinned. "Ohhhhh, hell yeah."

Jess couldn't help but burst into giggles as she let out a strangled whisper. "Oh my God! She's taking her shirt off!"

"What?" Hannah gasped, hearing her and then seeing Jess and Leah. "Oh my God!"

The others burst out of their hiding places at that time, including Matt with his camera.

"Matt?! What are you doing here?!" Hannah gasped in horror.

She was stuck, her shame caught for all her friends to see, and worse; it was being filmed.

She fumbled her shirt back on, her face burning with shame.

Mike began trying to save face. "Uh, I'm sorry, Hannah. This all got outta hand, but..."

At that moment, Sam burst into the room, realizing in dismay that she had been too late.

She turned quickly to Hannah. "Hannah? Hey, honey. Don't...it's just a..."

But Hannah was too distraught to even listen to her friend. She turned and ran from the room, not stopping.

Sam groaned as she finished her statement. "...Stupid prank."

"Uh...damn." Mike muttered, the others all sharing a look.

Sam turned to the others and glared. "You guys are jerks, you know that?!"

She turned and ran after Hannah, yelling, "HANNAH!"

She only just arrived in time to see and hear Hannah exit by the front door.

Beth was still down in the dining room and looked up at that point and spotted movement outside. She was startled, wondering if it was the same figure as before. She reacted at once, rushing out the door, calling out to the others.

"Guys, there's someone outside!" she called out, before noticing them all heading outside, too. "What the hell…?"

She hurried to pull on her fuchsia winter coat, hearing the others calling her sister's name. Bursting outside into the cold, the others all stopped, Sam calling out in desperation.

"Hannah!"

Beth burst out after them, shoving Matt out of the way as she did so.

"What's going on?" she demanded, looking around at the others. "Where's my sister going?"

Jess shook her head dismissively. "Ugh, it's fine. She just can't take a joke."

In a similar tone, Leah called out into the woods. "It was just a prank, Han!"

Beth glared, looking carefully at them, realizing right away that they were responsible. "What did you do?!"

"We were just messing around, Beth. It wasn't serious." Mike tried to explain.

"You JERKS!"

With that, Beth turned and ran off into the woods after Hannah, calling out to her.

"So..." Mike began awkwardly, "Should we go after her?"

Sam shook her head. "Y'know, I kinda think you're the LAST person she wants to see right now, Mike."

With that, the others turned and made their way back inside. Sam just prayed that Beth would be able to find Hannah and bring her back.

Stumbling through the snow, Beth grit her teeth, looking around for her sister.

"Oh shit!" she muttered. "Dammit, Hannah, where are you?"

She stumbled onwards, stopping when she found a fork in the road. There were footprints on one path and a shadow on the other. Acting on instinct, she followed the footprints, nearly running into a herd of deer, crying out. Still, she stumbled on, frantic, trying to find her sister. It was getting darker and she soon had to pull out her phone and use its light feature to find her way.

'Shit...shit, this is messed up.' she thought frantically.

She hadn't gone more than a few paces when a burst of flames above and to her left startled her. But then she could hear someone sobbing. She reacted at once.

"Hannah!"

Rushing forwards, she found Hannah kneeling in the snow, sobbing.

"Hello?" Hannah replied, looking up in shock.

"Hannah!" Beth cried out, seeing that her sister wasn't wearing a coat. "Oh my God, you must be freezing."

Despite the fact that Hannah was wearing jeans and a blouse and Beth, in comparison, had a simple shirt and yoga pants, she removed her coat.

"Here, take my coat."

Hannah pulled it on as she slowly stood up, both of them standing together now.

Hannah remained distraught as she shook her head. "I'm such an idiot, I'm so dumb..." she whimpered.

Beth did her best to comfort her, but then they heard a terrifying screech.

"Hannah…?"

The girl just shook her head. "Beth…?"

Beth bit her lip, terrified. The screech sounded again and, in a blind panic, they turned and ran as fast as they could. No easy task, due to the snow. Running in a blind panic, they made it to an old bridge. Crossing the bridge, Hannah fell. Crying out, Beth turned to help her sister up, unaware that, at that moment, her phone fell from her pocket, falling under the floorboards of the bridge. They continued onwards, both wanting to find safety, but ending up trapped as they reached a dead end on a cliff.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" Beth gasped.

Hannah let out choked gasps as she and Beth clung to each other, moving backwards until they couldn't go any further, due to the edge of the cliff.

"No..."

They could hear the screeching getting closer.

"No! Shit, no, get back!" Beth cried out. "Fuck, no...ARGH!"

She cried out as they suddenly lost their footing and fell. They now were stuck, Beth hanging onto a branch protruding from the ledge, holding Hannah's hand with her other hand.

A burst of flames suddenly lit up the night above them. Beth looked up in horror as a strange masked figure appeared above them and, after a brief pause, reached out towards them.

Beth grit her teeth. She could feel Hannah's hand slipping through her own. She couldn't abandon her sister and seeing this figure wasn't helping. It only terrorized her more and, unable to hold on anymore, she let go. The last thing she knew was the pain of slamming against the ground several times. She struck a particular rock and life was wiped from her body.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	2. Chapter 1

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 1 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you liked it :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

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**Chapter 1**

The bus drove slowly on the mountain road, the snow fell softly, laying heavily on the ground. It was late at night and Samantha Giddings found herself as the last passenger on the bus. She could hardly believe it had been a whole year since her last visit. Now here she was, on her way for the annual get-together of her and her friends. She was currently looking out the window, listening through headphones to a radio podcast about the incident from a year ago.

'Still, no one ever found Hannah and Beth...and we're going back to the lodge now.' she thought to herself. 'Is this really the right thing to do?'

She lowered her gaze, casually checking her nails, painted light blue with small white snowflakes on them. She listened to the podcast mentioning a person of interest and the old sanatorium before pressing a button on her iPhone, showing a video of Josh.

"Hello, friends and fans." Josh greeted on the video, before shaking his head. "Let's try that again."

He stepped forwards and adjusted the camera before stepping back into shot.

Smiling widely, he spoke again. "Hello, friends and fans. It is beyond awesome to have all of you guys back this year."

Sam bit her lip, watching carefully. Something about Josh's attitude in the video made her feel worried for him.

"First of all, I've gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway." he explained, before doing a mock cheer similar to a live audience in a TV show.

Sam continued to watch, glancing up to check where she was. She wasn't sure how Josh had been coping throughout the year since his sisters vanished. He had been saying he was fine, but it always felt, to her, that he was hiding something. And Sam trusted her instincts, since she'd always been good at reading people.

'It also doesn't help that Chris and I were the only ones to really stay in touch with Josh afterwards.' she reflected sadly.

The video was still ongoing, so she listened more.

"So, um...let me just take a moment to address the 'elephant in the room', so to speak. I know you're probably all worried about me and I know it's gonna be tough on all of us going back, after what happened last year."

He paused for a moment before smiling again and continuing. "I know it would mean so much to Hannah and Beth that we're all still together. Thinking of them."

Sam knew that, officially, Hannah and Beth were still missing, but it was pretty obvious to all but the most optimistic that they were dead.

"I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share some moments we'll never forget." he explained. "So let's party like we're fucking porn stars, okay?"

He laughed and the video ended. Sam smiled lightly and put her iPhone away, removing the headphones before standing up and moving towards the front of the bus. She quickly spoke to the driver.

"This is my stop here." she said.

The driver nodded and stopped and Sam disembarked from the bus. With a sigh, she looked around as the snow gently swirled around her. She was grateful that she had dressed for the weather in a purple long-sleeved shirt, a black leather jacket wrapped with a lipstick-red thick scarf around her neck, grey boots with white trimmings, a fur hat, and a red plaid skirt, along with black tights.

As the bus drove off, Sam did not notice the black-clad figure wielding a machete, who stood on the other side of the road, watching her for a moment before turning and walking away. With the bus having driven away, Sam prepared to make her way up to the cable car station, which would take up the mountain and closer to the lodge. She knew that the others would be arriving, or were already there.

As she began to take a step forwards, she heard a distinctive noise. It sounded like a twig snapping and she could swear she heard heavy breathing.

"Hello?" she called out, looking around, worried. "Someone there?"

No response. The noises stopped. Shaking her head and feeling paranoid, Sam began to walk up the path, her boots crunching through the snow. It didn't take her long to reach the gate. She reached out a hand to open it, but stopped.

'Huh, what's this?' she wondered, spotting a note attached to the gate.

She picked it up and read it. "The gate is busted. Climb over. Chris."

She sighed and shook her head. "Oh man."

Looking around, she finally spotted a possible section of wall that she could scale to her left. She walked over and immediately began climbing, going as quickly as she could. She stopped for a moment, looking up and judging the distance. Taking the risk, she jumped up, grabbing the top edge of the wall. She pulled herself up with a grunt and once on top, deftly leapt down, bending her knees to absorb the impact. She straightened up, smiling once she was on the other side and resumed her walk.

She glanced around again, sure that she heard something. She had a strange feeling that something or someone was watching her. She brushed the feeling off, however, stopping when she saw a squirrel. Smiling, she squatted down, gently lifting up a small pile of nuts and holding out her hand, with the nuts on them.

"Hey, cute little squirrel." she said quietly. "C'mon, it's alright."

She stayed as still as possible until the squirrel came up and took the nuts from her hand before scampering off.

Straightening up, Sam laughed softly. "Cutie."

Still smiling, she made her way up to the lower cable car station, looking for any sign of the others. The only other person that she knew would be around here was most likely Chris. She looked around, however, and didn't see anybody.

"Chris? You here?" she called out to no reply.

She paused and spotted Chris's bag. "Your bag is here, so where are you?" She looked around, but he wasn't around.

She jokingly called out, "You're not IN the bag, are you?"

It was then that she spotted something else. Chris's bag had its front pouch unzipped and his phone was slightly hanging out and the screen had just lit up, vibrating.

"What do we have here?" she wondered aloud, pondering briefly on her options at the moment. "Maybe I shouldn't snoop around Chris's stuff."

She zipped the bag up, closing the phone off, not looking at the phone.

Just as she straightened up, she heard footsteps and then the familiar voice of Chris.

"Hey, Sam, you made it."

She turned and smiled when she saw him. "Hi, Chris."

Chris was also dressed for the weather in a layered light blue jacket over a green commando-style sweater, a blue collared shirt, a white undershirt, and simple jeans. He paused briefly before grinning and going to pick up his bag.

"Hey, c'mon, got something to show you."

"What?"

"I'm not saying, you gotta come see." he replied with a soft laugh. "Gonna blow your mind."

Rolling her eyes and laughing, Sam followed Chris. As they began walking around the back of the cable car station, Sam's eyes were drawn to a defaced wanted poster of a criminal. She was shocked, it seemed that the criminal was supposed to live in the nearby area.

"Whoa, have you seen this?" she asked.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, maybe we'll get a visit from America's Most Wanted."

Sighing at his joke, she followed him around to the back, where he revealed what he had found. It was a makeshift shooting range with bottles set up on various surfaces and stuffed sacks hanging from trees. A rifle was set on the 'table' at the edge of the 'range'.

"Well, what do you think? Sweet, huh?" Chris commented.

Sam stared with wide eyes at it. "Sweet isn't the word I'd use. What's a shooting range doing at the base of a ski lodge?"

Chris laughed a little as he picked up the rifle. "Uh, have you met Josh's dad? The guy thinks he's Grizzly Adams or something."

Sam just sighed and watched as Chris took aim with the rifle. Taking careful aim, Chris made short work of shooting several sacks and a couple of bottles.

"See?" he remarked with a grin.

Sam just laughed and in a faux southern accent replied, "Wow, nice shootin', Tex."

Also laughing, Chris smirked. "Alright, I'm bad. I'm a badass."

"I'm gonna go more with a wild case of beginner's luck." Sam replied.

Chris gladly took up the challenge. "Oh no, watch this." With that, he casually no-scoped a bottle.

Sam shrugged before teasingly replying, "Well, anyone and their brother could hit a bottle that big, that close."

Chris laughed again and took aim one more time. He stopped for a moment, however, as he saw that one of the drums on which a bottle had been set now had a squirrel sitting on it, eating a small pile of nuts.

'Where did that little guy come from? Okay, that removes that target. No way am I even aiming that way.' he thought to himself. 'Doubly so with Sam here, given how much of an animal lover she is.'

So he instead aimed for the furthest sack and took the shot, striking it. Sam smiled and applauded lightly as the squirrel ran off, unharmed.

"Hey, c'mon, there's our ride." she said as she spotted the cable car on its way down.

Chris turned to her. "But I've almost got the hang of this."

She shook her head. "C'mon, Chris, the cable car. The others are likely waiting."

Chris sighed, but agreed, and they made their way back to the cable car station.

After some trouble due to it being locked, but Chris thankfully knowing where the key was, they entered and waited for the cable car to arrive. Once it did, they both got on and sat down. As the car began taking them up to their destination, Chris smiled.

"Just like going to the prom." he quipped. "Man, it's gonna be so weird seeing everyone again."

Sam nodded with a sigh. "Tell me about it. Everything just came rushing back and...Josh seemed quite excited about the thought of us all doing something together here. I wonder if he..."

"Hey, no, he was seriously psyched for this, I can tell." Chris replied. "I haven't seen him this amped up in, like...forever."

"Yeah..." Sam replied softly.

There was a pause as they rode in silence for a moment. Then Chris broke it.

"Hey, you know how I met Josh?" he queried. When Sam shook her head, he continued. "Alright, it was back in third grade. Josh sat at the back of the room, I sat at the front, neither of us had any idea the other existed. But one day, the kid next to Josh started strap-snapping the training bra of the girl in the seat in front. So he got moved down to the front and I got moved to the back."

Sam raised an eyebrow before prompting, "And…?"

"And next to Josh. That's how we met and became friends, to this day."

Sam laughed. "A match made in heaven."

Chris shrugged. "If it weren't for the fact that Jeannie Simmons hit puberty, like, three years early and on that day decided to wear a low-cut shirt that showed off her training bra...I mean, who knows? You could be riding in this cable car alone right now, or talking to some other person entirely. Boom, Butterfly Effect."

Sam nodded slowly, seeing Chris's point. It certainly helped her feel more at ease. Anything could happen, so the best bet was to go with the flow and make the most of it.

Meanwhile, waiting by the upper cable car station, watching the snow that billowed through the night, was Jessica Riley. She now wore her hair in two dutch braids fastened with indigo hair-ties and was clad in a stone blue casual parka jacket, wearing under it a purple top over a plain ivory-white undershirt and also wore plain denim jeans. she also had dark pink nail polish and wore a simple band on her finger.

She was sitting, simply passing time on her phone when she heard the cable car arriving and stood up, smiling as she muttered to herself, "Ah, excellent. More people. Time to play meet and greet."

She began walking towards the doors when suddenly, she heard a loud thump from them, making her gasp and leap back. It was then that she saw Chris and Sam leaning against the glass.

"Hey, Jess."

She raised an eyebrow at their antics. "Um, are you guys having a really weird stroke or something?"

Sam was the one who replied. "We're stuck in the here. The door won't open, can you help us? Pretty please."

Jess smiled softly and reached out to press the button on the door controls, opening the doors and allowing them both to stumble out.

Chris shook his head and began remarking playfully. "Oh thank God, any longer in there I was afraid I was gonna have to chew my own leg off."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Gross, Chris."

He just laughed, as did Jess.

There was a brief pause, during which Chris noticed Jess holding a letter of sorts. His curiosity got the better of him and with a playful sound effect, he swiped the letter from her hand.

"Hey, Chris!" she cried out.

He just grinned as he read the note, stepping back out of her reach. "Well, what have we here, oh my?"

Sam shook her head. "Chris, come on."

"It seems our dear Miss Jess has some major feelings for our dear class Prez, Mike." Chris remarked. "And what kind of sizzling erotica could Jess be dreaming up, I wonder?"

Jess crossed her arms and shook her head before replying, "Actually, Mike and I are together now, so there."

Chris and Sam shared a look at that.

"Wow, drama..." Chris remarked.

Jess shook her head, clearly having heard things like that so many times. "No, it's pretty clear cut, actually. Leah's out, I'm in, that's all. Now...my letter."

Chris shrugged casually and handed it back before turning to Sam, who had moved over to the railing by the cliff edge, smiling widely.

"Wow, have you seen this view? I mean, we've been here several times, but..." she trailed off and laughed. "When have we ever stopped to really take it all in?"

Chris nodded in agreement. Finally, he turned to the girls. "We should really get going before we freeze out here."

Jess shook her head, however. "You guys go on ahead, I'm gonna wait here for a while, see if I catch any of the others."

"Waiting for Mike?" Chris teased good-naturedly.

"What?" Jess gasped, before recovering and shaking her head. "Oh, you know, whoever."

Chris laughed and he and Sam continued onwards.

Walking up the path that would lead them up to the lodge, having passed the main gate, were two figures, a male and a female. The male knelt down to pick up some bags on the ground while the female walked by his side, shaking her head, also carrying a number of bags.

"Nearly there. Damn, I feel like it's even further this year." she said.

Matt rolled his eyes as he turned to his sister, Leah. "It just feels that way because we're all still worked up about last year."

Nodding quietly, Leah sighed. "I guess...I guess you're right."

Matt smiled reassuringly at this and they continued to walk, heading towards a covered wooden bridge that would take them across to the next part of the path.

Leah sighed and shook her head. "I'm getting chills..."

Matt raised an eyebrow at that. They had both dressed up reasonably well for the weather. He was in gray track pants and a light cobalt-blue Letterman jacket over a light jean jacket and a gray turtleneck. Leah was wearing a white blouse underneath a ribbed dark gray turtleneck and a black leather jacket with fur trim. She also wore black jeans and snow boots with fur trim. She also had black nail polish, along with a few rings adorning her fingers.

"We're nearly there." he said, trying to sound reassuring.

Leah looked at him strangely before her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Ah, no, I mean...it's been so long since we were last here and after what happened last time…"

Matt also realized now what she meant and nodded. "Ah, yeah, I see... Well, hopefully, we'll find some closure this time around."

Leah smiled lightly, hoping that he was right.

They had just reached the end of the bridge when suddenly, a figure leapt out and yelled at them. Matt nearly dropped the bags, half-crouching defensively. Leah leapt back, screaming. The figure began to laugh and they finally saw who it was. It was a familiar young man clad in a flannel jacket underneath a dark blue padded vest, a white tank top undershirt, and a pair of jeans.

"You guys..." he said, still laughing, "You should see your faces."

Leah was not impressed. "Michael!"

Shaking his head, Matt groaned. "Dude, I almost clocked you."

"C'mon, lighten up, we're in a spooky mountain forest, middle of the night, snow everywhere." Mike explained. "I'm just trying to get in the spirit of things."

Leah let out an exasperated sigh. "Spirit of things? Really?"

Mike groaned. "Oh come on, Leah. Don't be like this."

"I'm not being like anything, Michael. This is just...hardly the time." she remarked, suddenly feeling awkward.

She still wasn't exactly over their break up and still had feelings for Mike, but the pain still lingered. After all, Mike was the one that had initiated their breakup.

"Hey, it's the perfect atmosphere." Mike replied. "C'mon, lighten up, have some fun. It's why we're here, right?"

Leah wasn't sure how to react. Meanwhile, Matt bit his lip, pondering.

Finally, he spoke up. "Look, Mike, Leah's kinda right. After all that's happened here, we really shouldn't be...you know, goofing around out here."

Leah shook her head, not wanting to make things even more awkward. "Matt-"

"I hear you, man." Mike replied calmly, however. "I get it, really. Point taken."

Matt nodded, relaxing. "Cool. So we're good?"

"All good."

There was a brief pause after this, as they took a moment to relax.

Leah was the one to break the awkward silence. "So...we should get going, huh?"

"Uh...no." Mike replied, shaking his head. "I'm gonna go check on the cable car back down the trail."

So, after saying farewell to them, Mike walked back down the trail. Matt prepared to continue up the trail to the lodge. Leah glanced back for a moment and bit her lip.

"He never changes." she muttered, sounding annoyed.

Matt stifled a laugh. "Got that right, Sis."

She turned to Matt. "Well, we should get going. The others can just catch up, right?"

Matt nodded in agreement and together, the siblings continued up the mountain trail.

The small wooden platform jutting out from the trail that formed the observation deck was occupied by just one person. That figure was dressed warmly in a striped reddish-pink beanie, a light bluish-gray hoodie worn over a long-sleeved red shirt, blue jean shorts, and dark leggings finished the outfit. Additionally, she wore a pair of red-striped fingerless gloves, a green rectangular ring on her right middle finger, and a silver locket.

"Whoa..." the girl, who was Ashley, whispered to herself as she straightened up a little.

Ashley was busy checking out the scenery through the tourist binoculars set up on the deck. Usually, people had to pay to use things like this, but this one was free. She resumed her observations through the binoculars when she spotted something.

"What the?" she muttered. 'What the hell was that?'

She was unsure what to make of it. She was looking out at the snowy forest below, nothing was in sight. Yet she could have sworn she'd seen a shape, some kind of shadow, darting between the trees. It didn't look like any animal she had ever seen.

'But then...what could it have been?' she wondered, confused.

Shaking her head, she pushed the matter out of her mind.

She bit her lip and began to zoom out with the binoculars when Matt leapt up practically in front of her, causing her to see his face, magnified. She screamed and leapt back as he laughed.

"Whoa..."

She shook her head. "God! Oh my God, Matt."

He shook his head, approaching as she put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her thumping heart.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry, Ashley." he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. Well, not 'scare you' scare, just give you a little jump."

She lightly hit his chest as she spoke through gritted teeth. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh..."

As she began calming down, she also noticed Leah standing there, smirking at her brother's antics.

"So what are you looking at? Can I see?" he asked, gesturing to the binoculars.

Ashley pondered for a moment, wondering if she should mention what she saw. She wasn't sure if she wanted the others to know, or if they'd even believe her, but still, she wanted to be sure.

In the end, she made up her mind. "Um, sure. Say...I think I saw something weird earlier, something moving in the trees. Maybe it was just an animal, but..."

Matt quirked an eyebrow at that. "Huh, for real? Hmm, alright, let me see. If I spot it, I'll let you know."

Ashley nodded and while she and Leah waited, Matt looked around until he finally straightened up.

"Nope, nothing."

Ashley sighed. "Alright, then."

Leah offered her a reassuring smile and then, after she and Matt picked up their bags, the three of them made their way up to the lodge, resuming their trek once more.

Jess sighed as she continued to wait by the upper cable car station. After absently sitting, twiddling her thumbs for a moment, she decided to pass the time picking up her book. She hadn't read more than half a page when suddenly, a snowball impacted on the wall next to her. She let out a startled yelp.

"You did NOT just do that!" she remarked.

Mike laughed and put on a mock southern accent. "Surrender and come out with your hands where we can see them. We got you surrounded."

He bent down to form a snowball and Jess, thinking quickly, grabbed an already prepared snowball from the nearby railing. She made her way towards the steps leading down to the small clearing.

"Oh but what am I, a supple young rebel girl to do...other than surrender to the strapping military commander come to take me into custody?" she replied in a similar accent.

Mike smirked and stepped forwards and she took her chance to throw the snowball, hitting him and making him yell out startled.

"Gotcha!" she cried, darting for cover at a nearby picnic bench and table.

Mike shook his head, throwing the snowball he held. "Nice try!"

"Oh snap."

Jess ducked just in time to dodge it. They both took cover, grabbing fresh snowballs.

Mike laughed and called out teasingly, "Where are you, kitty?"

Jess grinned. "You're mine, Mike!"

She leapt out and threw her snowball, striking Mike again, laughing she moved, dodging again and getting another snowball. She peeked out. Mike was hiding behind a tree, nearby was a bird. She paused for a moment. She knew that if she threw a snowball at the bird, it would startle Mike out of his hiding place.

'But then I won't have a snowball to use on him. Plus, poor bird, it doesn't deserve that.' she reflected.

So she abstained, allowing the bird to fly away and when Mike leapt out, she dodged the snowball that he threw and threw hers, striking him again.

"I'm gonna get you!"

Jess shook her head, trying to form another snowball, but then she was tackled and fell on her back with Mike kneeling above her, grinning.

"You're done!" he called out with a laugh. "Done city!"

Laughing in response, Jess replied, "Wow! So did I go down?"

Mike raised an eyebrow. "I think you did well enough, Miss Jess the snowball queen."

"Okay, that sounds vaguely dirty." she commented.

They both laughed and then, after a slightly longer pause, they kissed deeply. They parted at last and Jess gasped.

"Whoa, save some of that loving for later, buddy."

Mike just grinned. "Endless reserves."

She nodded before replying, "We should probably get going, the others are waiting. Or we could just stay out here."

"I would gladly stay out here, provided I was making out with you the whole time." Mike said calmly as he helped her up.

"Just making out?" Jess queried.

Mike shrugged and replied jokingly, "Quote, unquote."

Rolling her eyes, Jess added, "We'd probably die somewhere between those quotes."

Together, they proceeded onwards, finally heading up to the lodge to join the others.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	3. Chapter 2

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 2 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Now standing just outside the lodge with Sam, Chris fought to catch his breath from the climb. They weren't alone, either. They had been met outside the lodge by Josh himself.

"Boy, every time I climb this mountain, it feels bigger." Chris remarked.

"Oh yeah?" Josh queried, raising an eyebrow. "It feels the same to me."

Like the others Josh was dressed up against the cold weather in a pair of jeans, a knit wool beanie, black boots, and a sleeveless puffer jacket. Under said jacket, he was wearing a dark brown shirt underneath a flat-collared blue and white plaid-styled unbuttoned shirt.

Chris laughed at Josh's comment and replied, "C'mon, you practically grew up here, it probably feels like it's shrinking."

"Maybe." Josh conceded with a wry laugh.

He nodded in greeting to Sam, who smiled back, and the trio made their way further up, heading towards the front steps of the lodge. As they walked, Chris pulled out his phone and shook his head.

"Man, when are you gonna get some cell towers installed up here? I'm getting withdrawals already."

Josh smirked and joked, "You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up."

Laughing, Chris pretended to pat down his pockets. "Funny you should say that. I think I left it in my other jacket."

"Oops." Josh quipped, playing along.

They walked up to the foot of the lodge. Ashley was already there, seated on the steps, and Matt stood nearby with Leah.

"Hey, gang." Josh greeted enthusiastically. "You guys get up here okay?"

Matt grinned, stepping forward a little. "Could've done with some bellboys." he remarked flippantly. "But hey, can't get everything."

Ashley nodded as she too spoke up. "Yeah, it was pretty easy. A little creepy, though. I mean, it's just really weird being back here."

They all nodded and Matt, Leah, and Sam moved a little further down the path, Sam going as far as the gate and leaning on it. Ashley remained seated on the stairs while Chris and Josh approached the door, out of range of all of their hearing. Heavy breathing filtered through the trees as they were watched.

Chris bounded up the last few steps to join Josh on the front porch. "Yo, yo, yo!" he cried out excitedly. "Are we gonna get things moving up here or what?"

"Yeah, man!" Josh replied, just as enthusiastic.

There was, however, a slight edge to his voice that Chris noticed. He began to feel concerned.

"Hey...you doin' alright? I mean, it must be really tough without your sis-"

"Stop."

Silently cursing himself, Chris tried to recover. "I just meant that-"

"No, I know what you meant." Josh said reassuringly. "You know, seriously. I'm over it and I just want us to have a really good time, you know? Like we always used to."

Chris nodded, feeling relieved, and waited as Josh attempted to unlock the door.

"Dammit, this freaking thing." he muttered angrily.

Chris stepped forwards, raising an eyebrow. "It's iced?"

"What else?"

Thinking for a moment, Chris then made a suggestion. "Maybe there's another way in."

Josh shrugged and stated, "There are a million ways in, they're just all locked."

"There's gotta be, like, a window around that we can get, like, get open, or something." Chris said in reply, not to be discouraged.

Josh turned to look at him, incredulous. "Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?"

Chris shook his head, stammering slightly. "I don't think it's technically breaking in if you own the place, right?"

"Hey, not if I don't report you." Josh replied, laughing at Chris's unease to show he was joking, before speaking again. "Lead the way, Cochise."

Chris just sighed and turned, starting to head down the steps.

On the way down, he stopped and turned to Ashley, biting his lip as his heart suddenly sped up. He couldn't deny that she looked nice, even all bundled up against the cold.

"Hey, Ash..." he greeted somewhat awkwardly.

She smiled and returned his greeting. "Hi, Chris."

He thought briefly before replying, "So...how're you doing?"

"Mm...good." she replied with a slight shrug. "But a little cold. I think I could use some time curled up by the fire."

Chris smiled gently at that. "Yeah, that does sound pretty nice."

She also smiled at that and Chris stepped down. Seeing his expression, Josh nodded and waited while Chris went to talk to Matt. It had, after all, been a whole year since the two of them had seen each other.

"Matt, it's been a while!" Chris greeted before saying jokingly, "You look all weird without your helmet and jersey."

Matt shrugged, replying blandly, "Yeah, been a tough one. Good to see you."

This left Chris a little uncomfortable. Out of all the friends in the group, Matt was the one he had the hardest time talking too. Nevertheless, he did his best to be friendly.

"So, how's it hangin'?"

Thankfully, Matt brightened up a little at that. "Pretty good, can't complain! You?"

Shrugging and smiling, Chris answered, "Oh, you know. Same ol', same ol'."

Matt nodded and, seeing Sam trying to get his attention, Chris excused himself and walked over to her.

Once he reached her, Sam asked him suddenly. "So, you seen Ash yet?"

"Ummm, yeah?" he replied, taken aback.

Nodding, Sam continued. "Cool, cool. How's, uh...how's she doing?"

Her tone and even the questions themselves confused Chris. "She's...fine, why?"

"Oh, no reason." Sam replied, turning so that Chris couldn't see the knowing smile on her face.

Shrugging at this, Chris turned back and went to join Josh again. They began to walk along the path at the side of the lodge, looking to go around it and see if they could find a way in. Once out of earshot of the others, however, Josh turned to Chris, grinning.

"Ashley was looking pretty hot today, right?" he teased his friend. "She's like a 'sleeper hit' kinda gal, you know?"

Chris paused, startled and a little uneasy. Josh's next comment made him even more so.

"Now I just wanna rip that parka right off her and...make some snow angels, right?"

"H-hey, cut it out, man-" Chris protested, a little startled.

Josh just laughed and held up his hands. "I mean, if you don't wanna bang her, maybe...Mike will take up the case."

Chris narrowed his eyes. "W-Will you back off already?"

Josh simply laughed, shaking his head and gently eased Chris. "Relax, man. I'm just...checking to see if there's some blood flowin' down there." he stated jokingly.

Chris shook his head, exasperated. "Yeah..."

There was a brief pause, before Josh sighed. Josh decided that he had to emphasize his point, while doing what he could to boost his best friend's confidence.

"Listen, dude. Look around you. Look at these beautiful mountains. Do you see any parents? I mean, can you imagine a more perfect, ripe scenario, just dripping with erotic possibilities?" he stated, announcing, "You and Ashley, alone at last. You've laid all the groundwork, you've been a perfect gentleman. Now you come in for the kill!"

Chris smiled lightly and sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Josh grinned and added, "You are a hunter, bro. No fear, no mercy. I mean, she won't even know what hit her."

They both laughed at that.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Jeez." Chris replied, holding up a hand.

Satisfied, Josh nodded and together, they resumed their search.

As they did so, Josh queried, "So how are we planning on breaking into my parents' lodge, bud?"

Chris grimaced lightly. "Wait, I didn't say that I had a plan-"

"You sounded like you had a plan." Josh replied, before joking, "You better deliver, Cochise, or else you got four lovely ladies who are gonna be freezing their buns off and last time I checked, that's not a good way to get laid."

"Well, shoot. Nobody likes cold buns." Chris shot back.

Both boys laughed as they continued. As they walked, Chris stopped as he noticed something. At the side of the lodge was a holder for a fire axe, but the glass was broken and the axe, disturbingly, was missing.

"Hmmm..." Chris muttered, biting his lip.

Josh nodded. "Don't worry about that, it's been missing for ages."

Chris nodded, reassured, and then, just to his right, he saw just what he needed. There was a window that he could see was unlocked and nearby was a cabinet that could be moved underneath the window, with a bit of elbow grease. He gestured to the cabinet, drawing Josh's attention, and he moved to shove it.

Josh went to the other end and took hold. "Well, well, well, we got ourselves a thinker. Nice one."

Working together, they moved the cabinet beneath the window. Chris then climbed up and nearly overbalanced.

"Whoa..." he muttered, but managed to right himself.

Nodding to Josh, he pulled open the window. Looking through, he could see that it led to the garage. He began to climb through the window, only to tumble unceremoniously, landing on the floor with a yelp. Groaning, he lay there as Josh climbed the cabinet quickly and held onto the windowsill, looking down.

"Ugh, I'm okay." Chris replied quickly. "I should have paid more attention in climbing class..."

Josh looked a little perplexed by that. "Uh...you mean 'gym'?"

Standing up, Chris nodded. "Yeah, you know, with the climbing up the rope-"

His words were cut short when, with a loud pop, the light bulb smashed, plunging the room into darkness.

Chris looked around, startled. Josh was surprised, too.

"Whoa..." he gasped.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Chris looked up to Josh. "Uh, did I do that?"

"I don't...I don't think so." Josh replied, before pulling out and throwing a lighter to Chris. "Here, use this."

Chris caught it and ignited it, providing him with at least some light to see by.

Looking at the lighter, Josh's eyes widened and he grinned. "Whoa, Chris, I just got an awesome idea." he said quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Totally."

Chris nodded. "Well, what is it?"

"Okay. So. I am PRETTY sure that I've got deodorant in one of the bathrooms. You could use THAT with the LIGHTER..."

"I don't...I don't follow." Chris replied, shaking his head. "How's a stick of deodorant gonna help?"

Josh looked amused as he replied, "Spray-on. It's a can."

Realization dawned on Chris. "Oh, yeah. Now I gotcha."

"Flamethrower."

Chris grinned. "Just like we do with the lil' army dudes."

Josh grinned as he too recalled the fun they'd had, torching the plastic army men.

"Yup, the ones we melted." he said with a grin. "Just point the spray-can at the lighter then...FWOOSH."

"Bye-bye, frozen lock."

"Bingo. Alright, so you got this." Josh remarked. He glanced back to the front of the lodge. "I'm gonna go sort something out. You up for hunting around in the dark a little bit later?"

Chris sighed but shrugged. "Nope, but I'll do it."

"Godspeed, pilgrim." Josh shot back with a John Wayne impression.

Josh then jumped down from the cabinet, out of sight, leaving to Chris to wander the dark alone.

Chris began making his way through the lodge, looking around, remembering so many things from the previous trips there. Some things stood out, catching his eye, namely a newspaper fragment about an arrested convict with a grudge against Josh's parents. He couldn't deny that worried him, especially in light of recent findings, such as the wanted poster and missing axe. This was despite Josh's assurances.

'Well, what do we have here, huh?' he thought to himself, but stopped.

He smiled wistfully as, on his way up to the main floor, he spotted a family portrait, showing all of the Washingtons, including Hannah and Beth. Just then, he jumped as he heard a strange noise.

"Huh, what the hell was that?" he muttered.

Anxiously, he continued onwards, opening the door and entering the main part of the house. In the main hall, he continued to look around. He stopped by the front door, glancing out the small window. He could see Sam and Ashley standing just outside, talking together. Smirking at the chance for a small prank, he ducked out of sight.

Sam and Ashley stood talking together, when suddenly, from inside...

"WOOOooOOooooOOO!"

They both jumped, but immediately recovered, recognizing the voice.

"Hi, Chris. Very funny." Sam remarked at once, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

Chris let out a small groan. "How'd you know it was me?"

Sam just pointed out, "Shouldn't you be, like, getting the lock open or something?"

"On it!"

With that, Chris resumed his journey through the house. It was clear that the power was gone in the whole place now, not just the garage.

His journey through the house, interrupted by him looking around, led him to some strange things, such as a rather unsettling answer phone message. It seemed that the wanted man that he had heard about was released from prison not too long ago and was on the loose. The message had been from a police officer, warning Josh's mother.

Other things were less worrying and produced pleasant sights, like a picture of Hannah, Leah, Mike, and Sam at prom, a picture of Josh, Hannah, and Beth at the beach, and finally, a film trophy that Josh's dad had won. Chris actually remembered it. He had gone with the Washingtons to the ceremony where it was won.

'Wow, feels like so long ago...so many memories.' Chris thought to himself, before shaking himself out of complacency. 'Okay, stop dawdling, Chris. You got a lock to heat up.'

Quickly recovering, he made his way through to the bathroom. He immediately went to and opened the cabinet beneath the sink and saw the deodorant can in front of him. Smiling, he went to take it, but just as his hand closed around it, a furry, sharp-toothed creature leapt from the cabinet with a roar and ran from the room.

"AHHH, SON OF A-!" Chris cried out in shock and alarm as he fell to the floor.

Recovering, he stood, staring out of the door. "What the fuck?!"

He blinked and then looked down. He still had the can. "Ah, perfect."

He picked up the lighter and lit it again and made his way back to the front door.

Waiting outside, the girls did their best to stay warm against the cold.

All the same, Ashley couldn't help but complain. "We're freezing our buns off out here!"

It was then that they spotted Chris through the glass as he got to work, using the deodorant and lighter to burn the ice off the lock. He then put the items aside and opened the door. The handle was still hot, making him wince, but he recovered well and gave a mock bow.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week." he joked, making the girls roll their eyes.

Suddenly, at that moment, the creature from the bathroom darted out through the door, startling Chris and the girls. Chris more so.

"EEEK!" he cried out, not in a very manly way. "Jeez!"

Sam and Ashley laughed at that while Chris shook his head, trying to recover.

"Crap, that thing freaked me out." he muttered.

"What was it? Are you okay?" Ashley asked, concerned.

Shrugging, Chris shook his head. "It was like a bear or a tiger or something."

"Aw..." Sam replied in a cutesy tone. "It was just a cute little baby wolverine."

"Baby?" Chris shot back incredulously.

Josh had, by this point, reached the top of the stairs, with Matt and Leah just behind him.

"Don't worry, buddy. You're gonna be a big boy soon." he teased.

Chris just groaned and the five of them finally entered the lodge.

Entering the darkened lodge, Josh smiled widely as he gestured widely. "Home sweet home."

Matt shook his head, a little creeped out by the lodge in darkness. "Sweet is not the word I'd use."

Ashley shivered and blew on her hands. "Oh my gosh, it's SO GOOD to be inside. Even if it's still kinda freezing in here."

"I'll get a fire going." Josh offered happily.

He knelt down by the fireplace and began setting up the fire. Meanwhile, Sam moved over to the stairs leading to the upper floor, sitting down on them and letting out a relaxed sigh. Matt looked around at the lodge while Leah helped set the bags they'd brought with them down and excused herself to use the bathroom.

"This place barely looks any different." he noted.

"Nobody's been up here." Josh replied with a shrug.

Ashley turned at that, a little surprised. "Even with all of the police coming in and out?"

Josh nodded and Chris clarified, "Not a lot of action up here lately."

Josh nodded in agreement. "Nope."

Chris and Ashley walked over to join Sam, although they simply remained standing by the stairs. Chris checked his watch and couldn't help but notice how long it had taken for all of this. It was now 22:28. He couldn't help but note that most of that time was spent by him searching the lodge while preparing to open the door. Nevertheless, they were all inside now, just waiting for the others to arrive. Matt remained by the fireplace while Josh continued to work on setting up and lighting the fire.

It was at that moment that Mike and Jessica entered the lodge.

Mike grinned as he called out, "What's up, party people?!"

Jess had an equal grin as she also greeted everyone. "Heeey!"

Josh greeted them enthusiastically, as did the others. Mike and Jess sat down on the sofa and immediately began making out as Leah walked in.

She took one look and instantly felt her anger spike. She still felt hurt by Mike dumping her and she still had deep, strong feelings for him, growing to dislike Jess in the process, also angry at the fact that Mike had clearly chosen Jess simply for her looks while Leah herself had a much better personality. Nevertheless, she did her best to maintain her cool, not wanting to fight. And so, despite a hard look at them, she said nothing about Jess and Mike clearly making out.

But then, suddenly, Josh made a remark, looking over at Jess and Mike. "Well, you guys sure look as happy as ever."

Leah's jealousy spiked at that comment as she held back her emotions as best she could.

But Jess noticed the irked look in Leah's eyes and smirked. "Yeah, but it looks like someone's bitter that she didn't make the cut." she taunted.

Unlike Leah, who genuinely loved and cared about Mike, Jess had simply seen him as a prize to be won and had started dating him only because he was the best-looking guy in school and stayed with him to this day because he was charming and an amazing lover in bed.

Unmoved, Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow."

With a short, disparaging laugh, Jess shot back, "Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow."

Trying to stand up for his sister, Matt spoke up. "H-hey, you're making everyone here really uncomfortable, Jess."

"Keep out of it, meathead." Jess taunted him.

Matt stepped back, a little taken aback. "Hey, that's...uncalled for, look-"

At the same time, Leah snarled, "Hey, don't you talk to my brother that way!"

She was very protective of her brother.

Jess simply waved her hand. Everybody watching was unsure if they should step in or not, Mike especially. Josh, meanwhile, seemed focused intently on the fire, despite not working on it right now.

"Whatever..." Jess remarked dismissively to both Matt and Leah. "I don't give a crap what you think."

But Leah would not let it lie. She didn't normally act like this, but Jess had crossed a line. "At least I CAN think. 4.0, bitch. Honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job."

It was true that Leah usually got better grades in school than Jess did. Unlike Jess, Leah knew that looks weren't everything. There was more to Leah than that. However, Jess didn't share her mindset about looks not being everything.

It was clear that things were getting more and more heated, which worried the others even more. But none of them could see a way to intervene without things getting even further out of hand.

"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages that you can handle?" Jess replied with a smirk as she gestured to her body, clearly full of herself.

"Oh, please..." Leah muttered darkly.

Jess merely shook her head, her smirk and feeling of superiority growing, clearly intending to take things further once again. She opened up by snarking at Leah, once again acting as if she had the advantage over her.

"You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass."

"Are you serious?" Leah shot back, almost laughing. "Do you think that's insulting to me?"

Jess turned to Mike, pointing at Leah. "That bitch is on crack or something."

Mike himself was feeling that he should say something, but Matt beat him to the punch.

"Jessica, you need to shut your mouth, okay?!" Matt cut in, standing up for his sister.

Jess rounded on him, glaring at the fact that he would dare respond this way. "No, you're the one who needs to keep your nose out of other people's business!"

Leah took this very personally, stepping up, almost getting in Jess's face. "I'm about to get right up in YOUR business, you bitch!"

Jess turned to her and finished closing the gap as she growled, "Are we about to get real? Cause I am down to get real!"

It was clear to all that a fight was about to break out between the two girls. But Josh wasn't having it.

"STOP IT!" he yelled, standing up and glaring. "This is not why we came up here, this is not...helping. It's not what I wanted."

There was an awkward silence, with everybody looking guilty. Sam, well known for being good at reading people, especially Josh, following the loss of his sisters, couldn't help but vaguely notice Josh's reaction seemed odd. Didn't his comment start this confrontation in the first place?

He sighed. "If we can't get along for ten minutes, then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right? Mike, why don't you check out the guest cabin, the one I told you about."

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Mike replied, jumping to his feet, relieved. "Want to go do that?"

Jess turned to him and nodded, firing a parting shot at Leah. "Any place without that whore."

Josh's glare, however, stopped things from going any further.

Once sure that they weren't about to start up again, Josh gestured towards the rear exit of the lodge. "It's right up the trail." he said.

Nodding, Mike took Jess's hand and they headed out the back door. There was a stony silence. During which, Leah turned to Matt. He shook his head and imitated his head exploding before sighing.

"Phew, glad that's over!" he remarked at last.

"Fuck this." Leah snarled. She then turned and stormed out.

Everybody knew her well enough to know that she was going to cool off.

Still, Josh spoke. "You'd better go with her, Matt. After last year...none of us should be alone up here."

"Yeah, yeah, good idea." Matt replied. He then hurried out after his sister.

After a brief awkward silence as the group of eight found themselves reduced to four, Sam let out a relieved sigh and stood up.

"Okay, I am gonna go and take a bath." she stated, before turning and climbing the stairs.

The others all nodded. Chris and Ashley moved to sit on the sofa while Josh continued to work on the fire.

Exiting the lodge into the frigid night, Mike and Jess stood on the back porch. Jess approached the edge of the porch while Mike sighed.

"Exiled." he stated blandly.

Jess gave him a wicked smile as she joked, "You mean Sex-iled?"

He laughed at that. "Works for me."

He approached her as she began rubbing her arms, shivering in the cold.

"Brr. How far away is this 'cabin', anyway?" she asked, a skeptical note in her voice.

Laughing, Mike wrapped his arms around her and began to explain. "This cabin is the cosiest, most romantic love den you will ever lay your eyes upon."

"Psh..." she shook her head, playfully shoving him. "If we ever make it."

Mike shrugged casually, leaning on the balcony ledge. "Oh, I have a feeling luck's on our side."

Laughing at this, Jess remarked teasingly, "Play your cards right and maybe you will get lucky."

Mike grinned at that and straightened up. They were both prepared to get going.

Just then, Josh opened the door and leaned out. "Hey, porn stars!" he called out to them, throwing something to them. "You're gonna need these."

Jess caught it, revealing that it was the keys to the cabin. She raised an eyebrow at Josh's comment, however, and queried, "Porn star?"

Josh stepped out, laughing. "I'd pay to see it."

"Uh, gross?" she replied, shaking her head.

Josh just laughed again. He then turned to Mike and sighed. "Sorry to kick you out like that-" he began.

But Mike just casually waved his hand. "No worries, man."

Nodding, Josh remarked suggestively, "Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourselves."

"Mmm-hmmm." Jess replied, doing her best to ignore his suggestive comment. "Well, you have fun with the peanut gallery."

Laughing, Josh mimed a gun shot to the head and began to make his way back inside.

"Oh, almost forgot." he said, stopping suddenly and gesturing. "Gotta fire up the generator so you can see where you're going. It's dark out there."

With that, he headed back inside while Mike nodded and prepared to begin.

Smirking, Jess turned to him and remarked, "You know, I think Josh was flirting with me."

"Mmkay..." Mike replied, before joking, "You want to invite him up with us?"

"Wait, really?" Jess replied.

"What?" Mike gasped, shaking his head. "No!"

She just laughed and headed down to the trail. Mike followed her, pulling out and turning on his flashlight, noting that she had stopped. He approached her, confused, until she turned, smiling widely as she held out her phone.

"Hey, Hot Lips. Photo booth?" she offered.

Laughing eagerly, he replied, "Alright, you read my mind."

He took the phone and they prepared for a selfie together. He soon took it and Jess took the phone back, examining it.

Jess grinned widely. "Oh my God, this is perfect! We're, like, the cutest couple!"

"Damn, you should be a model." Mike replied as he too observed the picture.

Jess smiled coquettishly. "You keep that camera handy and maybe I'll let you start my portfolio...at the cabin."

"Wink! Noted!"

Jess then began to move along the path again. Walking along, she called out, "Okay, let's go. I've got cabin fever."

She paused briefly before rubbing her arms through her jacket again. "Brr, it's freezing out here!"

"Now that's something that I can help you with." Mike told her confidently.

Liking the direction that this conversation was going, Jess fired back, "And how are you gonna do that?"

Mike grinned and said cheerfully, "I've got a few things in mind."

As they walked on, heading for the shed where the generator waited, Jess shook her head.

"Leah's as dumb as she looks if she thinks that she can cut in on what we've got going on." She then lowered her voice, adding vindictively, "Maybe if we're lucky, she'll try and follow us out here and get eaten by a bear."

Shrugging, Mike casually noted, "Yeah, she's a handful. But maybe you should ease up on her. She's still upset about being dumped."

"Um, hello? Not my problem, Mike." Jess dismissed.

Mike hadn't told anyone, but he had recently been having second thoughts about dumping Leah. Jess had started to become unusually possessive of him. Plus, she seemed to like his charming persona that he usually exuded, rather than who he was underneath.

"No, of course not. I'm just saying that it's not worth kicking her when she's down." he clarified.

Seeing a look of concern and suspicion in Jess's eyes, Mike quickly tried to save face. "Besides, I'd much rather be spending my time gettin' down...with you."

"Yeah...okay." Jess replied, letting her suspicions disappear as she shrugged off what Mike had said about Leah. "But she'd better stay down, is all I'm saying."

Mike entered the generator shed after their little talk and, finding the latch, he opened it and flipped the switch and fired it up, turning on the lights.

"Boom! Nice one, Mikey!"

Jess cheered. "Woo! You are a wizard!"

They headed over to the gate and Mike opened it. Together, they headed through and began crossing the wooden bridge over the stream.

Deciding to add a little 'mood' to their walk, Jess turned on some music on her phone.

"Pretty good, right?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, totally. This is...awesome."

"Awww, yeah! I bring the hits." Jess replied enthusiastically. "You psyched yet? You don't looked psyched yet!"

She was right. He wasn't. But, laughing at her infectious enthusiasm, Mike reassured her, "I am so psyched right now!"

"It's a like a little adventure." she continued cheerfully. "A sexcapade."

Mike couldn't help but laugh at that. Although, the laughter died away as he and Jess stopped, noticing police tape wrapped around some trees.

"Police tape..." Jess began to question him.

He sighed. "From Hannah and Beth."

Shifting uncomfortably, Jess remarked softly, "You'd think they'd clean it up..."

Shrugging, Mike explained, "Well, they never closed the investigation."

"Okay, I'm gettin' the creeps now." Jess replied, with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.

Mike nodded slowly. He understood that Jess felt guilty about what had happened to the Washington sisters.

Doing his best to reassure her and be respectful, he said, "Well, wherever they are...I'm sure they're happy that we're all thinking about them."

She smiled gently. "That's...a nice way of thinking about it."

Trying to put the unease behind them, they continued onwards.

It was then that two things happened in quick succession, which caused them concern. The first was a scream that they could hear in the distance, which disturbed both of them. The second was finding a tree blocking their path

"Ah, damn." Mike muttered. "I don't think we can get up to the cabin with the path blocked like this."

Jess shook her head vehemently at that. "Oh, no way am I going back to the lodge a.k.a. wax museum to drink hot chocolate with Leah!"

As she spoke, she began to walk the other way, along a separate fork in the path. "You know what? Fuck it. We're adventurous. We'll find another way around."

By this time, Mike had joined her and they had entered what appeared to be an abandoned mineshaft entrance with a wooden waist-high barrier blocking the way forwards. Jess leaned on it, only for the rotting timbers to break and for her to fall, screaming.

"JESS!" Mike cried out. "Fuck! Hey, Jessica!"

He darted to the edge to find her standing up, breathing heavily, but apparently unharmed.

"Yep!" she called out, turning around. "Hey, I'm okay!"

Mike breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy crap, you scared the heck out of me."

Brushing herself off, Jess shot back, "Well, how do you think I felt?"

"Er, you didn't hit your head or anything?" he questioned, still worried.

With an impish grin, Jess replied, "As far as I can tell, I still have all seven of my limbs."

"Yeah..." Mike replied with a small laugh at her sexual reference. "Can you get out?"

She looked behind her and bit her lip. "Uh, I don't know. I can hardly see anything down here!"

"Alright, I'm comin' after ya, just stay put!"

With that, he jumped down, unaware of the dark clad figure with goggles and a scarf covering his face standing behind him. The same one who had been watching him through the window of the generator shed. Landing on the ground, Mike joined Jess, who smiled, impressed with his heroism.

"Hey handsome, wanna help me move this cart thing?" she asked playfully, gesturing to the mine cart blocking the path.

"Alright." Mike said, and began pushing. "Help me move it."

Jess agreed and together, they were able to push the cart, although it was still an effort.

"When I imagined us grunting together," Mike quipped, "This is not what I pictured."

Jess laughed at that and they were soon able to get around the cart and continue their walk through the mine. However, it was then that they heard a rumble and another mine cart came around the corner, barreling towards them. They both cried out, but Mike was able to catch the cart and stop it.

"Holy crap!" Jess screamed. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Wincing, Mike nodded. "Ah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

They glanced back at the mine carts and hurried onwards.

"Woah nellie, this place is givin' me the willies. And not the good kind of willies." Jess remarked.

Smiling, Mike kept up the act and replied, "Can I offer you a little comfort and reassurance?"

Jess just laughed and said, "Save it for the cabin, buster."

They walked onwards. Mike happened to spot something to the right of them on a dead end path. He went to examine it, with Jess following, wondering what had piqued his curiosity.

"Huh...stogie." he revealed as he picked up the cigar stub that had been sitting on an oil drum.

Jess arched an eyebrow, confused. "Weird place to hang out and smoke cigars."

Mike also noticed something else. "It's recent. I wonder who was up here?"

He trailed off as he put it down, for his flashlight had suddenly illuminated a strange symbol on the wall.

"Whoa, this place is like...historical." he gasped upon seeing it.

Jess couldn't help but be amazed. "Holy bat cave."

Mike nodded. "It's gotta be Native American, right?"

Jess shrugged and they quickly returned to the path and continued making their way through the mine. Their trip was uneventful, save for a plank of wood nearly falling on top of them and the discovery of a map, dated 1952, which showed that the place was in danger of structural collapse, all of which certainly made them more edgy.

But to their relief, they finally found their way out of the mine and back onto the path, revealing the cabin in the distance.

Eyeing the cabin, Jess let out a low whistle. "Well, well, when Josh said 'cabin' I thought like, Abe Lincoln." she joked.

Caught up in her mood, Mike replied, "Wait 'til you see the Lincoln Bedroom."

"Oh, are you planning to get presidential on me?"

"Wanna take a ride on Air Force One?" Mike joked.

Shaking her head, Jess replied, "Alright, alright, save it for the stump speech, buddy."

It was then that she spotted an observation telescope and hurried over to it, excited. Looking through it all the while, cheerfully muttering to herself.

"Gonna look at the trees...gonna look at the clouds...gonna look at the cabi- Uh. Whoa."

She stepped back, shocked.

"You alright?" Mike asked, concerned.

Jess bit her lip. "I just saw someone at the cabin."

Mike looked through it himself, but saw nothing. He did his best to reassure Jess that it was just them and she reluctantly accepted this before they headed through the nearby gate and onwards down another trail.

They hadn't gone far when a bird suddenly jumped out at them, startling Mike.

"Watch out, bird-brain." Jess laughed.

Mike shook his head and offered up, as an excuse, "I was just...answering its mating call."

Laughing even more, Jess shot back, "Wow, you're easy."

"Yeah, I've got a lotta love to give."

Still chuckling, Jess continued onwards while Mike muttered to himself, "I was scared."

They continued until they found yet another tree blocking their path.

Frustrated, Mike almost felt like yelling.

"Goddamnit, Josh. Couldn't you have at least cleared out the path before sending us up here?" he complained to no one in particular.

"Really?" Jess remarked incredulously, explaining when he got confused. "I didn't figure you for the glass half-empty type."

"You got a better idea?"

Grinning, Jess took a couple of steps back. "Stand back, Debbie Downer."

With that, she ran up to the tree and vaulted up, climbing to the top of the fallen tree trunk.

"Oh, boooo!" Show off." Mike remarked in response.

"Hey, Mike." Jess said, standing up straight. "You got something on your face."

Mike reached up to his face, then Jess suddenly threw a snowball, hitting him square in the face.

"Boom!" she cried out.

"Okay, okay." Mike said as he recovered, making his own snowball. "Well, if that's how it's gonna be."

He turned around, ready to throw, only to find Jessica gone from the tree trunk.

"Jess?"

Suddenly, he heard a scream. A scream that he instantly recognized.

"Jess?!"

Back at the Washington Ski Lodge, Sam was upstairs in the bathroom, adjusting the taps on the bathtub and shaking her head. She checked the water with her hand, sighed, and adjusted the taps some more.

"Sammy!" Josh suddenly called up from back in the main room.

She straightened up and called back, "Whaaaaat?"

"You wanna help me get this fire going?"

She bit her lip and casually admitted, "Ummm, well, I was just getting into the bath."

There was a brief pause before Josh replied teasingly, "Oh! Well, do you need any help with that?"

"Hardy har." Sam groaned in reply, rolling her eyes and sighing.

She tried the taps again and checked the water. She was turning on the hot tap, but getting no hot water.

"Come on." she muttered, before sighing. "Alright, Josh. Let's see if you know how to hook up the hot water in your big fancy lodge."

She turned and left the bathroom, pausing briefly as she looked to her left. There was a door that had clearly been closed for quite some time. Despite knowing who the room belonged to and why it was closed, Sam couldn't help herself. She walked over and entered Hannah's room.

The place hadn't been touched since the disappearance of the girls. Looking around the room, Sam began to notice a few things that stood out. A postcard, a card about a tattoo shop. Sam remembered Hannah getting that tattoo. Continuing her exploration, she noticed a whole noticeboard on her wall, with everything being about Mike, a picture of Mike pinned to it, underneath a party invitation written by him.

"Gee, Hannah Crush much?" she muttered.

Looking around, she spotted something else. A piece of paper was on the floor. She picked it up. It was a romance compatibility test with a very unsatisfying result. Hannah was no doubt hoping to find out about her chances with Mike.

She shook her head. "Could this be any more about Mike?"

Even though Hannah had clearly been in love with him, Sam still thought that Mike had made a good choice in dating Leah. Sam still couldn't believe that he had dumped her for Jess.

Shaking her head, she left Hannah's room, returning to the matter at hand.

Making her way across the upper floor, onto the balcony that led to the stairs, she could hear Josh, Chris, and Ashley down below.

"Come on..." Josh was complaining, much as she had been earlier.

There was a pause then Chris queried, "How long do you think it'll take him?"

Sam could easily tell that Ashley was shrugging as she answered.

"My money's on blankets for everyone!"

They then started joking, cheering him on, and Sam smiled, amused by their antics as she descended the stairs and approached them.

Josh stood up from the fireplace and turned to them, shaking his head. "Alright peanut gallery, you know what? I got an idea for you two." he remarked.

"What?" Ashley replied, taken aback by his sudden remark.

Grinning, Josh explained, "Okay, well, I'm pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have... a spirit board."

Ashley made a face at that. "A what?"

"Wow..." Chris sarcastically gasped. "You have 'a spirit board'?"

Finally realizing just what he meant, Ashley asked incredulously, "Wait, are you saying...we should have a seance?"

Chris, however, shook his head. "Those things are a joke, man. They don't do shit."

"No way, bro." Josh insisted. "We used to do it all the time, me and...well..."

They all went quiet at that, knowing that he was talking about his sisters.

Sam decided now to make her presence known. "Hey, Josh." she called out. "No hot water's kind of a major oversight, dontcha think?"

Josh just smiled and gestured. "Yeah, yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement."

"You guys see if you can find the spirit board." he said, turning to Chris and Ashley.

Enthusiastic, Ashley stood up. "Chris, let's go find it, it'll be like a scavenger hunt."

"Ummm...okay..." Chris replied uncertainly. "I guess so."

"Rad..." Josh replied happily. "You're not gonna regret it."

So they split up. Chris and Ashley headed off on their search while Josh began to walk towards the basement, inviting Sam along, and she followed. Once down in the basement, Josh turned to Sam, smirking.

"Hey, you notice how I gave Chris and Ash a mission together?" he queried, and when she nodded, he continued. "Yeah, I was thinking that they could use some 'alone time'."

Sam laughed good-naturedly and nodded. "They are very sweet together. I wish they'd just freakin' get on with it already!"

Josh casually shrugged. "I swear, they just need, like...something to bond over, y'know? Some sort of traumatic event to send them into each other's arms."

Sam wasn't sure if she'd word it that way, but didn't say anything as Josh retrieved a flashlight from a drawer and opened the door. They began to descend, heading for the basement.

Stopping just past the door, Josh sighed. "You know, Sam..."

She turned to him, a little concerned.

"I just wanted to say..." He hesitated, but encouraged by her, he continued. "It really means a lot to me that everyone came back this year and, you know…that you came, Sam."

Gently touching his shoulder, Sam spoke as reassuringly as she could. "Josh, we're here for you, really. Whatever you need, whenever. We're all gonna make it through this together."

"Um, I want us to have a good time, you know." Josh stated.

Sam nodded and they began to make their way down, joking around a little with each other on the way. Soon, they found the boiler cabinet and Josh got to work, opening it and preparing to set things up.

"Alright...sorry to drag you down into the bowels."

Sam shook her head. "Just get me some hot water and I'll be super-fine."

"I mean..." he replied, glancing at her, "I wouldn't want you coming down here on your own, you know?"

Looking around, Sam bit her lip. "Well, it is definitely creepy down here."

"Yep, not a place to be on your own."

While Josh worked, Sam spotted something in the cabinet and picked it up, a little surprised. It was a baseball bat.

"What's this doing here?" she asked, turning to show it to Josh. "Is this yours?"

Smiling widely, Josh took it from Sam and examined it, even giving a practice swing as he spoke.

"You bet it's mine. I used to play ball with my dad all the time. Of course, that was before he got too busy to hang out with me. Oh well, save it for the couch, right?"

Sam couldn't deny that she was a little worried at how rapidly Josh's mood seemed to switch, but she held it back.

Setting the baseball bat against the wall, Josh examined the boiler again. "Okay, lemme see what I can do with this old hot water machine." he quipped, handing Sam the flashlight. "Here, can you...can you hold this?"

Sam took it, but then turned quickly, hearing a strange noise. "What was that?"

Josh turned to her. "What was what? Just shine it here so I can see what I'm doing."

Turning, Sam did so and held the light steady while Josh worked.

"Nice one." he said once he was finished. "Okay, first things first: we gotta increase the water pressure before we get the boiler fired up."

Sam bit her lip. "Sounds kinda complicated."

Josh shook his head. "No, it's actually pretty simple."

He then walked her through it and Sam took her place, ready. While Josh worked the water, pressure began to build and, when the light flashed, just as instructed, Sam pulled the lever. The boiler came rumbling to life.

"Whoa!"

Josh grinned. "That's more like it! Alright! Five, girl!"

Returning the grin, Sam high-fived Josh, who smiled widely before turning and closing the boiler cabinet. It was then, suddenly, that Sam was sure she heard the noise again.

"What the hell is that?"

Josh stepped forwards, shrugging. "Could be a lot of things...and none of them nice..."

Seeing his smirk, Sam shook her head. "Hey, quit it."

"I'm just...just 'Joshing' ya."

Sam rolled her eyes and mock laughed at his bad joke.

Josh genuinely laughed, however, as he teased her. "You were really freaked out."

Sam scoffed and tried to protest. "I was not scared."

"No, no..." Josh replied quickly, still joking around. "You just jumped because you wanted to squeeze in some aerobics?"

"Don't be an a-hole, okay?" Sam continued to protest. "I totally didn't jump! All I said was, 'what was that?', which is a totally normal reaction to hearing a super creepy noise in a super creepy basement."

She was cut off by the sound happening again.

Josh tensed, stepping forwards slowly. Now both of them were looking down the corridor leading further into the basement.

"Okay, so...you hear that too, right? Josh?"

"What…?" he whispered in disbelief.

Sam shook her head. "The rhythm's, like, weirdly regular..."

"No, nothing 'regular' about it." Josh replied in a whisper.

Sam shuddered at that, but then squared her shoulders and put on a brave face.

"I'm gonna check it out." she said as she began to move down the corridor.

Josh was startled by this. "What, why?"

"What do you care, fraidyface?"

"It's probably just, like, not anything." he said.

Sam shook her head. "Why don't you hold down the fort while I make sure?"

"Okay, whatever you say, madam." Josh snarked back.

Sam continued down the corridor until suddenly, a man wearing a hockey mask and a monk's robe leapt out, roaring. Sam screamed and turned to run.

Josh stared and cried out, "Whoa, Sam, whoa..."

Sam ran to him, pulling down a wooden pallet against the wall as she passed. Josh stood his ground until Sam just passed him and then ran, too. They were so caught up in running that they didn't see the man stumble over the pallet and pull his mask off, although the hood still hid his face.

Sam and Josh's attempts to flee were hindered suddenly when they encountered a locked door.

"Oh come ON now!" Sam cried as she struggled with it. "Why are these doors locked?!"

Josh shook his head frantically. "To keep out strangers!"

He tried to cover Sam as she struggled to open the door. But it was no use, the monk caught up with them. Sam spun around and they pressed themselves back against the door.

"Hey..." the monk said in a gravelly voice.

"What…?" Sam gasped.

"Heeyyyyy..."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Sam choked out, her voice strangled from her earlier screaming.

The monk removed his hood and grinned as his identity was revealed.

"Boom! You just got monked!"Chris announced triumphantly.

There was a stony silence before Josh burst out laughing and Sam looked outraged.

"WHAT?!"

"Nice, nice one." Josh managed to say between laughs and he fist-bumped Chris. "That was good."

Sam spluttered, trying to get the words out, unable to believe what had just occurred. "Why? W-Why would you do that?"

"There's all this cool old movie crap down here." Chris explained. "What, was I...was I not supposed to take advantage of the opportunity?"

"Are you...are you serious?" she shot back, before turning to Josh and shoving his shoulder.

"Were you in on this, you putz?"

"Nope." Josh defended, before admitting, "But I wish I was. That was too good!"

The two high-fived and Sam groaned before they all finally left the basement, Josh locking the door behind them before they made their way to the main room.

With a heavy sigh, Sam glanced over at Chris. "I'm ready to admit that your dumb little prank may have had a slight whiff of humor to it." she admitted.

Chris grinned in response. "Joke master!"

Shaking her head, Sam responded, "I said nothing about jokes. I said your prank, which was dumb-"

"Holy crap, you were scared, admit it!" Josh cut in with another laugh.

"I was not!"

Josh wouldn't let it go, however. "Come on, you totally pissed yourself."

"Josh!"

Chris walked further ahead than the pair, to where Ashley was waiting. Sam stopped by the stairs going up and Josh followed Chris. Ashley took a moment to take in Chris wearing the monk's robe.

"What..in God's name...are you wearing?" she asked at last.

Jokingly making the sign of the cross in front of her, Chris replied, "I found my true calling."

Clasping her hands together, Ashley jokingly replied, "Please tell me you're going to take a vow of silence."

Chris continued to joke, pretending to speak inaudibly, making Ashley laugh.

"Okay, okay, did you at least find the...thingy?"

"Boi-oi-oi-oing!" Chris produced the appropriate sound effect as he pulled the Ouija board from his costume. "Here's our one-way ticket to the spirit realm!"

Ashley nodded and Sam sighed.

"You know what? No." she said. "I've just been through enough spooking for one night, okay? I see a hot bath in my crystal ball."

The others all nodded and Sam began to ascend the stairs.

She called back, "Alright? So have fun! Oh, but watch out for that Josh. He's a schemer!"

Josh just laughed and joined Chris and Ashley as they prepared to use the Ouija board, with Sam heading up for her bath at last.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	4. Chapter 3

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 3 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, well, we can only wait and see :)  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Chris grinned as he, Josh, and Ashley sat together. They had pulled three wooden chairs over to a small table in one corner of the room, set up the spirit board, and were now gathered around it.

Chris began to inform the others, taking some 'liberties' with his instructions. "So it says here: 'To communicate with the spirit world, you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit Master', which is me-"

"It doesn't say that." Ashley scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Chris laughed shortly before jokingly adding, "And all present will remove their garments at my sole discretion."

Josh groaned. "Chris, come on, this is serious."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious."

Finally, Ashley shook her head. "Oh shush it, let's try this."

"Yes, please." Josh added.

All three of them placed their hands on the board.

"Okay then." Chris conceded at last. "Let's see what happens. Ashley, since you're a recent convert, why don't you be our medium for today?"

Biting her lip, Ashley nodded as they all touched the pointer.

"Okay, um...anyone there? Will you reveal yourself to us...if you're there?"

There was a lengthy pause where nothing happened. Then, to their shock, the pointer began moving, guiding their hands. They were startled and cried out in surprise and consternation.

"Wait a minute..." Chris gasped.

Josh practically choked his words out. "Did you do that?"

Ashley shook her head. "I didn't do anything!"

"It's moving again." Chris noted.

The pointer indeed began moving again, this time spelling out a word, starting with H. They continued talking over each other.

"What's it spelling?" Josh cried out.

"Hold on." Ashley whispered worriedly.

"How is this happening?"

Chris was still skeptical. "Are you moving it?"

Ashley shook her head vehemently. "I swear, it's just moving."

There was a pause as it finished spelling the word.

"Holy shit..." Josh whispered in disbelief.

Ashley repeated the word, utterly taken aback. "Help?"

Chris shook his head. "How are we supposed to help?"

"I don't know." Ashley retorted. "What does it mean?"

Chris thought for a moment. "We need to know who it is if we're supposed to help them."

Ashley nodded and asked. "Who are you...? Oh, here it goes..."

The pointer began moving again. They read out the word it spelled aloud, Josh reacting first, followed by Ashley, and then Chris, before the cycle repeated.

"Okay, 'S'."

"I"

"S"

"T"

"E"

"R"

"Sister..." Ashley said breathlessly. "Sister?"

"Whose sister?" Josh asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

Ashley and Chris shared a look, both clearly thinking the same thing.

Chris, however, still seemed skeptical. "Oh come on, is this real?"

"Shut up." Josh snarled, before insisting, "Ask it whose sister."

Ashley shifted uneasily. Finally, however, she voiced her thoughts. "Josh, it's...it's gotta be..." She couldn't finish, but she didn't need to.

Josh realized it, but was still intense as he shot back, "Yeah? Okay, well, which sister is it, then?"

Chris nodded slowly. "Ashley, ask who it is."

Ashley shuddered, suddenly more afraid than ever. She considered it for a moment before finally simply choosing at random.

"Who are we speaking to? Beth…? Is that you?"

The pointer suddenly moved to 'Yes' on the board.

"Oh God." Ashley whimpered, freaked out.

Chris was even more edgy now. "This is messed up."

Worried, Ashley immediately turned to Josh. "Josh, are you...?"

"I'm fine." he insisted.

"Are you sure? Because we can stop-" Ashley began to reply.

"No."

"Dude," Chris said softly, "It's cool..."

"I want to hear what it says." Josh explained, suddenly looking rather manic.

Ashley shook her head. "I don't know where to start."

They fell into a short silence, thinking. Finally, Chris spoke up, a spark of interest in his eyes.

"Think about it." he said quietly. "If this is actually Beth, I mean, we can find out what happened that night."

"Oh...kay..." Ashley whispered nervously. "Let me think…"

Finally, Ashley spoke again, voicing her question. "Beth...we want to know what happened to you that night. Can you tell us?"

The pointer began moving again.

Ashley spoke quickly, trying to keep up. "H-A-N-N..."

"It's spelling Hannah." Chris piped up.

But then Ashley realized. "Wait, it's still going."

"K-I-" Chris read.

Ashley continued. "L-L... Oh my god..."

The word finished, adding an 'E' and 'D'.

"Killed?" Josh exhaled. "Guys, guys, what's she talking about?"

Ashley shook her head, sounding as if she was borderline to a breakdown. "I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"We have to." Josh insisted.

There was an edgy silence.

Finally, Chris seemed to make up his mind. He spoke reassuringly to Ashley. "Just...just stay calm. I think it's saying that someone killed Hannah..."

"I don't know..." Ashley said shakily.

"I just..." Chris bit his lip. "Ask it something else!"

Ashley nodded, trying to regain her composure. "Okay, okay... How was Hannah killed?"

The pointer moved again as Ashley read out, beginning to spell the word. 'L-I-B-'

Chris immediately caught on. "Library. Maybe there's something in the library here..."

"P-R-O-O..." Ashley read out.

Chris, again, realized what was going on. "Proof, there's, there's…there's proof."

"In the library?" Ashley queried in disbelief.

Suddenly, the spirit board shook and flipped the pointer clean off the table, making all three jump back.

"Watch out!" Josh cried out.

The others also cried out. The lengthy silence was broken by Josh, shakily getting to his feet.

"You know what? No, this is bullshit." He was almost growling. "This isn't real..."

"Josh, I don't know what's going on." Ashley insisted.

Josh glared. "Listen, I don't know...I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool." He began to storm away.

"Josh, no!" Ashley tried to explain, pointing out, "You wanted to use the spirit board."

"Hey, calm down, it's not Ash's fault!" Chris tried to defend her.

Josh merely snarled at them. "I don't need this right now, okay?! You guys are full of it!"

With that, he stalked away, heading down into the basement.

Standing awkwardly, feeling guilty, Ashley turned to Chris.

"Sh-should we go after him?" she asked hesitantly.

Chris shook his head. "Ah man, I mean... He'll be okay, let's...let's just give him some time."

Ashley trusted Chris. He was Josh's best friend, so he'd know how best to handle Josh when he was behaving like this. All the same, she was freaked out.

"I don't blame him. That was crazy, the pointer flew right off the table."

"I mean, if..." Chris began, unsure how to word what he was saying, "If you were faking it, you were doing one hell of a job-"

"I wasn't faking anything." Ashley insisted. "I think we should do what it says. We should look in the library."

Chris nodded in agreement and they prepared to do just that.

* * *

Looking around warily at the spot on the fallen tree trunk where Jess had been standing, Mike bit his lip worriedly.

"Jess?" he called out warily, having heard her scream.

She screamed again and Mike panicked. "Jess?!"

He hurried and began to climb over the tree trunk, nearly getting the wind knocked out of him in the process.

"OOF" he gasped, before cringing. "FUCK NUGGETS!"

He clambered over and jumped down, following the path, looking around warily as he went, using his flashlight to find any clues.

"Jessica…?" he called out worriedly, continuing his calls as he searched. "Ah, come on, Jess? Buddy?"

He stopped by an old abandoned tractor, one that had clearly been here for some time. But he ignored it and headed to the right. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Jess? Hon? Light of my life?" Then, jokingly, "I totally promise I won't murder you when I find you."

Just then, a figure with large antler like-horns leapt from the shadow and Mike screamed a very unmanly scream.

The figure burst out laughing, revealing themselves to be Jess, holding a pair of loose antlers to her head. She put them down.

"Oh my God!" she laughed.

"Oh my...no!" Mike cried out, shaking his head in dismay.

Jess couldn't hold back her laughter. "Haha, that was so good!"

Hurrying to where she had set her phone down she spoke to him. "Wait, wait, wait, you have to see this..."

"I'm not seeing anyth– No. No!" Mike groaned.

But Jess was insistent, holding out her phone to him. "Look, no, no, no. Mike, haha!"

"You recorded that?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Look at your face!" Jess insisted with glee.

"I was scared, Jess!" he groaned. "You can't just jump out at somebody! I'm in the middle of the woods. It's scary!"

Laughing still, Jess remarked sarcastically, "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"I-if you send that to anybody..." he warned.

"You'll what?" she challenged cheerfully.

"I'm...gonna...kill ya." he finished lamely, not convincing at all.

Smirking, Jess jokingly teased him. "I didn't know that you had such a cute little lady-like scream, Michael. Guess you never really know someone unless you scare the pants off 'em!"

Rolling his eyes and regaining his composure, Mike replied, "As far as I can tell, my pants are still on." He opted to respond with a casual witticism.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, looks like you'll have to try harder." he quipped.

"A challenge, eh?" she replied confidently. "Well, I hope you're strapped in, 'cause you're about to feel the full force of my mind-melting thrill skills."

With that, the couple reunited and continued on their way.

As they walked onwards, they soon began crossing a bridge which overlooked a small waterfall.

Jessica gasped in amazement, loving the surroundings. "Waaaaaoooow... It's kind of like a real winter wonderland out here now..."

"Hey girl, you know I hook you up!" Mike responded cheerfully.

Jess nodded happily and they resumed their trek when they were interrupted by a rather disconcerting noise.

"The hell is that?" Mike whispered uneasily.

Jess was also worried. "Was it someone screaming?"

"Naw, no, probably just a squirrel or something." Mike replied, trying to be reassuring.

"Brr. Creep town."

They continued, now more than eager to reach the cabin. But Mike suddenly stopped, hearing something.

"Shh!"

"What?" Jess whispered.

"Did you hear that?" he replied quietly.

Jess shook her head and Mike warily lifted a snowball. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should throw it. In the end, his hesitance led to him dropping the snowball.

Both he and Jess cried out in surprise as a deer jumped out from the trees and tore past them. Both recovering from their close call, they resumed their journey. Mike was certain that they were almost there. On the way, they came across an abandoned shack.

"Charming."

Jess laughed at that and jokingly replied, "It's everything you described, Michael."

"Wait, what?" he responded, confused.

"The cabin. I love it."

He rolled his eyes and responded with sarcastic 'yeah'. Still, he decided to check it out while Jess cleaned up some mud from her coat from a nearby small pond, thankfully not completely frozen over.

A careful search of the old shack turned up nothing except an old miner's mask. Curious about it, Mike decided to share his discovery with Jess.

"Hey, check out this mask." he said as he emerged, showing it to her as she stood and turned.

"Ew, why?"

"It's so weird, right?" he queried.

Jess shook her head, shuddering. "It creeps me out."

"I think you like it." Mike teased, before holding it in front of his face. "Wanna make out?"

Jess groaned. "Mike, stop!"

"Alright, your loss." he replied, throwing it aside, muttering to himself, "This mask is cool."

They continued, with Mike briefly wondering if they'd have any more distractions on the way. They soon got their answer as another deer leapt out in front of them and ran ahead, making both of them yelp. A short while later, they heard a high-pitched screech.

"What is that?" Jess shakily whispered.

"Not sure I wanna know."

It was shortly after that they found the dying deer. The poor creature lay on the ground, its neck savaged. Its labored breathing spoke of its agony.

"Damn..." Mike whispered.

Jess shook her head in dismay. "It's horrible."

Examining the deer, Mike shook his head sadly. "I don't think it's gonna make it."

Deciding to at least ease its final moments, Mike slowly approached it. He knelt down, talking gently. "Hey, bud... Hey, buddy."

Jess did the same, talking softly. "Oh my God, the poor thing..."

He moved closer and gently stroked its head.

"It's okay...it's okay..."

"Mike, it's in so much pain." Jess said sadly.

He nodded before talking again, trying to be reassuring. "It'll be over soon, okay? It'll be over soon."

Suddenly, they heard the high-pitched screech again and the deer was suddenly yanked away from them, into the shadows. They both cried out, terrified.

"AHHH!" Jess screamed.

"WHOA!" Mike looked around wildly before quickly calling out, "RUN! RUN!"

They fled for their lives as they heard the wet, crunching noise of the deer being slaughtered by whatever had grabbed it, something that was now right behind them.

As they ran, hearing the sounds of rapid pursuit, Jess screamed, "Oh my God, what the hell was that?!"

"I don't know!" Mike yelled back.

Spotting a route, Jess cried out, "There's a bridge! Over here! Over here, Mike!"

She leapt over the gap of the fallen bridge, Mike following close behind, also jumping the gap. They ran further, ducking and leaping over branches as they ran.

"It's a bear. It's gotta be a bear!" Mike cried out.

Hardly reassured, Jess stopped, looking in dismay at the path splitting. A steep hill to their left offered a shortcut while the other was the actual path. Mike nodded to her and took off towards the shortcut. She followed at once and they began climbing the slope. Mike helped Jess up several times until they finally reached the top and began to run for the cabin, now right in front of them. They climbed the small set of steps onto the porch and Mike reached the door. Jess, however, tripped, dropping the key.

"Jess!" Mike turned sharply.

She struggled to her feet, gesturing to the key. Getting the message, Mike grabbed the key and hurried tried to unlock the door, urging Jess on as she got up and joined him. They managed to get inside and close the door behind them, locking it.

Fighting to catch their breath, Jess shook her head.

"Holy crap, I feel like I just ran a marathon!" she wheezed out.

Mike laughed lightly. "I think we kinda did."

"Was it a bear?"

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, gotta be. Those things are crazy fast."

Looking out the window worriedly, Jess muttered, "I mean, I didn't actually see it."

Trying to calm her down, Mike spoke confidently. "Hey, the thing's not gonna come barging in, I promise."

Jess turned to him, skeptical. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I'm pretty sure that bears don't know how to open cabin doors."

"I've seen them open car doors." Jess stated.

Mike was incredulous of that. "What? Where?"

"On...the internet."

Mike nodded slowly. "Really? Okay... Well, this isn't the internet, Jess! Alright? This is real life! And I promise you that no bear or anything else is gonna open that cabin door."

Jess sighed. "I guess you're right. Okay, I'm almost feeling relaxed again. Almost."

She attempted to flick the lights on, but they didn't work. Muttering to herself, she moved to the sofa and sat down, rubbing her arms.

"Brr, this is not the cozy chalet that I was promised, Mike."

Mike nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's a bit drafty or something, right?"

"Well, there is a fireplace." Jess stated, gesturing to it.

Smirking confidently, Mike leaned on the back of the sofa. "We don't need a fire to heat things up."

"Michael." Jess admonished him. "I am a lady and a lady needs a proper romantic setting. A lady would like to cuddle up with her man by a nice cozy fire bathed in atmospheric mood lighting."

"It'll get plenty toasty once we're rubbing up against each other..."

"Mike?" Jess repeated, emphasizing her point. "Fire...and mood lighting."

With an indulgent sigh, Mike nodded. "Yes, M'lady."

He began to search for matches to help light the fire.

As he searched, Jess checked her pockets and suddenly began to panic. "Oh shit! Fuck, Mike!"

"What?"

"Ahhhhh, oh crap!" Jess complained.

"What?" Mike repeated.

"Where is it?!"

"What? What's wrong?" he tried to get her to tell him.

"Gone. It's gone, okay?" she groaned.

"Jess, slow down." he told her calmly. "What is gone?"

Jess wasn't calming down, however. "My freakin' phone, Sherlock!"

Immediately, Mike checked under the sofa and around with the flashlight.

"You can't find it?"

"Crap, no!" she said, before realizing, "I must have dropped it outside."

"Ahh...shit..."

Jess turned to him. "I can't lose my phone, my parents will kill me!"

"You can always get a new one..." Mike suggested.

"That's, like, my fourth one this year."

Grimacing, Mike nodded. "Okay, okay, well, I'll help you look for it."

"It's gotta be outside." Jess reiterated.

Mike sighed. "Yeah...I don't think we wanna go out there right now with the bear...or whatever it is..."

Jess conceded his point and sat back down while Mike resumed his search. He found a few interesting things in the cabin, like a photo of Hannah and, most notably, a book on Native American beliefs, which explained the meaning of the carving they'd seen earlier.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones to meet the friendly neighborhood terror bears." he informed Jess.

She shook her head. "That does not make me feel any better."

Mike nodded, indicating that he felt the same.

Finally, he found the matches and grinned. "Lookie-lookie who's gonna fire up some nookie!"

Jess rolled her eyes. "You've been dying to use that line since we got here, haven't you?"

Mike just laughed and headed towards the fireplace. A small electric lantern was situated on the floor before it. He smirked and turned it on, taking care of the mood lighting. He then got to work, putting the wood in the fireplace and lighting it. Grinning, he stood up, turning to Jess.

"Man one, fire zero."

Jess clapped her hands with a grin. "Very nice, bravo."

"Alright, my lady, what comes next?" Mike queried.

With a suggestive grin, Jess stood and steered Mike until he was seated on the sofa, casually humming a disco beat to which Mike grinned, and he settled back on the sofa to watch. Even though he had been having second thoughts on being in a relationship with Jess, he liked that she was easy to please.

Unbeknownst to them, something was stalking around outside, breathing heavily. It soon approached the window and its infrared vision made out the shape of the duo inside as they soon ended up making out on the sofa.

Inside, Mike and Jess were still making out. Jess had, by now, stripped down to her white floral-patterned panties and matching bra. Mike was now down to just his jeans and white tank-top undershirt.

Just then, a loud crashing noise got their attention, causing them to break apart.

"Wha?"

"Huh?" Jess gasped. "Mike, what is that?!"

"I don't know!" he responded at once.

"Well, go find out now, please!" she hissed, sounding scared.

Mike nodded slowly, standing up and pulling on his socks and shoes before making his way to the bedroom. The window was broken and something was lying on the floor, playing a song. Mike picked it up, seeing that it was Jess's phone.

"It's your phone!" he called out, turning.

She was now standing in the bedroom's doorway, still clad in just her underwear.

"What?" How is it my phone?" she replied incredulously.

Mike shrugged. "I don't know, it just...came through the window!"

Jess suddenly glared, enraged as she plucked her phone from Mike's hand.

"Oh for fuck's sake! God DAMMIT!"

"What?"

Jess then gestured outside, retorting angrily, "Those goddamned assholes probably followed us out here to fuck with us, and just when we were getting down to business!"

With that, despite the cold, despite her attire, Jess stormed through the cabin to the front door, opened it, and stepped out onto the porch, unaware that she was being watched by the same thing from earlier.

HEY! YEAH! PRICKS! THAT MEANS YOU! I KNOW you're OUT THERE! The FUCK are you trying to do?!" she screamed into the night. "You want to ruin our fun THAT BAD?! Well, GUESS WHAT? You can't! You can't ruin our good time! Because Michael and I are gonna FUCK! That's right! We are going to have SEX! And it's gonna be HOT! So ENJOY IT! Because I know WE'RE GOING TO!"

Shaking her head, she turned, heading back inside, slamming the door. "Oh, give me a break." she muttered.

Standing by the door, arms crossed, she looked over at Mike. He sighed and began to approach her. Suddenly, something broke through the door, grabbing Jess by her head. She screamed in sheer terror as the thing that grabbed her yanked her forcefully through the broken window part of the door and out into the frigid night, her screams still echoing horribly as Mike witnessed the whole thing in utter shock and terror.

* * *

Walking through the darkened lodge with only a lit candlestick held by Ashley for light, she and Chris began making their way to the staircase which would lead down to the library.

"Do you really think that the girls were communicating with us?" Chris asked at last, breaking the tense silence.

Ashley shook her head, groaning. "I don't know. I don't know if I wish they were or I wish they weren't."

Chris sighed, but then shrugged. "I guess we should find out."

They began to head down the stairs. As they did, Ashley bit her lip, looking around, just in case they ran into Josh. She still felt the need to apologize to him.

"Josh looked so freaked out at the seance." she commented.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I mean, he looked like he was keeping it together, but..."

Ashley bowed her head guiltily and asked, "Do you think we shouldn't have mentioned his sisters?"

"I mean, it's why we came back up here." Chris replied, apparently trying to reassure her.

"Yeah..." Ashley agreed, before pointing out, "But not to, like, have a seance. Maybe we went too far."

In the room before the library, something caught Ashley's eye. She thought that she saw light. The floorboard was on a hinge, so she lifted it up. Beneath it was a vent with light coming through. It was electric lighting, despite the power being cut. She and Chris both agreed that something was seriously wrong with that and quickly left it.

They soon entered the library and began looking around for the proof that was apparently there. This led to a close call as they passed a bookshelf which suddenly seemed to launch a couple of books at their heads, narrowly missing them.

"Jesus, look out!" Chris yelled, doing his best to shield Ashley.

Ashley was understandably freaked out. "Ah, Chris! Holy crap..."

"Are you okay?"

"I think so." she replied, before looking at the bookshelf and pointing. "Look."

"What?" Chris turned and noticed something, too.

"There was something behind the books. What is that?" she queried as they began to move closer.

"Is it a button?" Chris wondered aloud.

They got close enough to see that it was indeed a button and Ashley narrowed her eyes, tilting her head in confusion.

"Why would there be a button?"

Chris shrugged. "That's a good question."

Sadly, that did not ease Ashley's nerves in any way.

Sighing, she turned to him. "Well, should I push it?"

"That's what buttons are for, I guess." Chris replied warily.

Nodding slowly, Ashley reached out and then pressed the button, stepping back in shock as the bookcase and wall behind it began to move to reveal a secret passage.

"Whoa." Chris gasped, amazed. "Panel opens, head explodes."

Ashley, however, was more frustrated. "What the? Are we, like, in a movie right now?!"

Shifting a little, recalling all of the spooks so far, Chris replied, "If we are, I hope it's a rom-com."

Smiling a little at that, Ashley privately agreed with those hopes, before remarking, "Leave it to the Washingtons to have secret passages in their house."

"Maybe they didn't even know." Chris pointed out. "This place is super old."

They both stood on the threshold, unsure and feeling unnerved.

Finally, Ashley voiced what they were both wondering. "So...should we take a look?"

Chris gestured. "After you."

"No." Ashley replied at once. "No, nonono. You go."

She practically thrust the candlestick into his hand.

"Gee, thanks." he replied sarcastically.

Nevertheless, he entered the passage, noting that it wasn't all that large. The main object of interest was a desk at the far side. Specifically, what was on the desk. Picking it up, Chris found himself looking at a portrait photo of Hannah and Beth.

"Well?" Ashley queried.

Chris, however, was even more shocked as he turned it over to find, written on the back of the photo, a threatening note, promising to harm the twins.

"Whoa, is this..?"

"What did you find?" Ashley insisted.

"Holy cow..." Chris gasped, thinking how best to approach this, then finally speaking. "Now Ash...I don't want to freak you out, but...look at this."

As he spoke, he emerged from the passage to join her again.

"WHAT?" she asked. Just hearing him say that freaked her out. "CHRIS, what IS that?"

"I...I think this might be what the spirit board wanted us to find." he admitted.

"The clue?"

"Yeah, it's a letter." he explained.

Ashley reached out, asking to see it. She read it as Chris explained about it being a threat.

Reading the threat, Ashley gasped, horror filling her face. "Chris, this is serious." she burst out. "We need to find Josh right now."

Nodding, Chris followed her as they left the library, only to be freaked out by a door that had been locked previously opening, with nobody there to open it. Despite their nerves now practically being on a hair trigger, they followed the new path, which, if Chris's memory of the lodge served him right, would lead to the kitchen eventually.

"Do you think someone was actually after Hannah and Beth?" Ashley asked worriedly.

"If so, that would be...really messed up." Chris replied, even sounding a little unsure himself.

While exploring this new area, Chris spotted a letter. Reading it, he noted that it seemed to be talking about a dispute with local Native American tribes. On the back, he saw a note from Melinda Washington.

"Looks like this was written by Josh's mom."

Ashley nodded in confirmation, remembering what she had heard. "Yeah, she's really making an effort to set things right with some native tribe or something."

Chris had heard this, too. "Yeah, the bad karma goes back a long way."

Putting the letter down, they continued on their path, stopping in the last room before the kitchen.

Chris turned to Ashley, who stopped, worried all over again upon seeing his expression.

"So, um..." he began, before finally spilling it. "I've just been thinking about something that I saw earlier with Sam..."

"What?"

He explained, "There was this wanted poster, like, full on western-style, you know?"

Ashley shrugged. "So?"

"And Sam really thought that there was someone following her around..."

"So...so what?" Ashley replied, suddenly getting nervous again. "You're saying that there's some criminal up on the mountain with us?"

Chris nodded. That was just what he was thinking. There was more to come, too. He remembered more and quickly told Ashley.

"There was a message on this answering machine I found and it...it was from this Sergeant, saying that there was this guy who had just gotten out of prison and there was nothing he could do-"

"What do you mean?" she asked, panic beginning to creep into her voice.

"He was saying it like...like a warning." Chris finished, before realizing, "I mean, maybe that was whoever was down in the basement before, remember? Under the floorboards in the library, the light. That guy I told you about..."

Ashley wracked her brains. Chris had told her a lot of things.

"Wait, wait, wait." she insisted. She couldn't put her finger on it. "What guy?"

"The guy who threatened the Washingtons. He said that he wanted to take revenge by burning the whole place down." Chris explained. "And I found that crazy psycho letter..."

Ashley groaned and turned away, wrapping her arms around herself. "Chris, if this is your way of trying to make me feel better...you're fired." she said bluntly.

Chris was about to reply when the door to the kitchen banged and suddenly they heard a scream.

"You hear that?" Chris gasped, turning at once.

Ashley recognized it and cried out, "That was Josh!"

Chris hurried forwards. "Coming from the kitchen!"

They called out to him, Chris telling him to hold on as Ashley opened the kitchen door. Suddenly, she was yanked into the room and the door slammed shut. Ashley began screaming and suddenly crying out in pain.

Panicking, Chris tried to open the doors. "Ashley?! Ash! What's going on? Lemme in!"

But the door was locked or jammed. Ashley grunted in pain again.

"Ashley, are you okay?!" he cried out.

Shaking his head, he began trying to force the door open, ramming into it. On his third try, he broke through, stumbling onto the ground. He struggled to his feet and saw Ashley, out cold on the floor in front of him.

"Ash?" he whispered before panicking. "ASH! HEY!"

He cried out as a man dressed in a strange jumper suit and wearing a white demonic clown mask with demonic teeth and red along the upper lip acting as an exposed gum suddenly appeared in his field of vision and punched him right in the face, knocking him out cold, too.

The Masked Man then turned and began to drag Ashley's unconscious form away. Later, he stood on the landing of the steps leading upstairs and listened carefully. He could hear the sounds of another person moving upstairs in the bathroom. Smirking beneath his mask, he lit the candle on its holder next to the landing and turned, walking away.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	5. Chapter 4

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 4 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Boris Yeltsin: Yes indeed.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Recovering from the sudden attack on Jessica, Mike darted forwards, still holding his lantern.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, what the fuck?!" he cried out.

He grabbed the hunting rifle that he had spotted next to the door when they'd entered and darted outside the cabin, leaping down into the snow.

"JESSICA!" he yelled, before noting the footprints and drag marks in the snow. "Oh my God, oh my God..."

He took off running, following the trail.

"JESS!" he cried out, listening, praying that he could hear her respond, even if it was only a scream.

His heart was hammering, the blood pounded in his head, the wind rushed past his ears. All Mike could think about was saving Jess from whatever or whoever had grabbed her. As such, the cold barely affected him, not even when he stopped to contemplate his choices, for he saw two routes ahead.

One was shorter but more risky, jumping over some fallen metal tubing to cross the river, or following the path around. For Mike, it was a no-brainer and he began to leap from metal tube to metal tube until he finally crossed the river and took off running again.

"JESS! JESSICA! JESSICAAA!" he cried out as he continued to run. But his frantic searching was still getting no response.

He stopped when he reached a ledge and looked around. It was dark, hard to see and the ground some distance below. Gritting his teeth, he set his lantern down and aimed the hunting rifle, trying to use the scope to see the path below. He searched without any result and began to panic.

"Jesus, fuck... Fuck..." he whispered, but then stopped. "JESS, NO!"

He spotted her, a little worse for wear. Dirt had smeared onto the back of her thighs and panties and she was frantically crawling away from something. But then, whatever it was, as Mike couldn't see it through the scope, grabbed her and began pulling her away.

"Argh, NO!" she screamed, before pleading loudly, "MICHAAEELLLL, HELP ME! HELP ME!"

She was yanked away out of sight, still screaming. Mike leapt to his feet, picking up the lantern and shouldering the rifle again. He wasted no time and jumped down, sliding down the cliff.

"Holy SHIT! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! URGH!"

The whole way down, he cried out, trying but failing to grab a branch on the way down to slow his fall. As such, he landed painfully and hard, but got to his feet as fast as he could. He quickly retrieved the rifle and lantern and kept running.

"Keep going, keep going." he told himself.

His adrenaline pounded, making him move faster, ducking under low-hanging tree branches and leaping over protruding tree roots. He silently cursed. He could no longer hear Jess screaming. His only source of finding her were the unusual footprints and drag marks still fresh in the snow.

He stopped again as he found himself at a chasm. There were two ways across; he could either shimmy across the edges or use the rock platforms to jump across.

'Okay, c'mon... Fuck it...Jess's life is at stake.' he told himself and threw caution to the wind.

It was a startling experience, but he managed to make the jumps, some of them only just. Once on the other side, he wasted no time and resumed pursuit, once again picking up the trail.

He shook his head as he pursued. 'There's no way that this is a freaking bear, but what else is so fast or strong? This doesn't... I swear, if it is some person, I am gonna really lose it.'

Growling and urging himself onwards, he soon stopped again. He was standing at the top of a cliff, overlooking an old abandoned mine building. Looking at the path below, Mike made up his mind at once and began to slide down the ledge, taking care to arrest his fall and slow his descent. Soon, he reached the bottom, landing on his feet. He picked up his rifle and lantern again and began to make his way towards the mine building. The trail stopped there, which worried him, and he looked around.

"HELP ME!" Jess suddenly screamed.

"Come on, shit! Shit! Shit, shit!" Mike growled as he entered the mine building.

Following her screams, he tried to find her.

"Oh no, Michael!"

"JESSICA!" he yelled back, trying to get her attention.

Her scream this time was more focused, telling him that she had heard. "HELP ME!"

"JESSICA!" he called out again. But this time, there was no reply. "JESS!"

Instantly, panic settled within him and he hurried through the building, descending a set of stairs when he found them.

His heart leapt into his mouth when he heard Jess shriek again.

"ARGH! NO! MICHAAEELLLL HELP ME! HELP ME!" She was pleading and she wasn't scared, no, she was clearly terrified.

"JESSICA, I'M COMING!" he called out, trying to reassure her, but she continued to scream. "JESSICA! JESSICA!"

Hearing him, she cried out, pleading again. "HELP ME! Oh no, Michael!"

"JESS!"

He reached the bottom of the steps and rounded a corner, slowly approaching the center of the room. His eyes widened in horror. An old elevator was stationed there and as he drew close, he heard something, then yelped as something fell from above and hit the shaft hard.

"NO! OH, GOD! Nooo... Jess... Oh God!" he cried.

He had been too late. For lying there, still in just her underwear, covered in so many injuries and certainly dead, her jaw ripped completely off, was Jess. It even looked like pieces of skin on her arms and legs had been forcibly peeled off completely!

Mike began to reach for her when suddenly, there was a loud metallic snap and the elevator dropped into the depths of the mines.

"Jessica!"

Mike stared in dismay as her body vanished from sight. He had come so close and now she was gone. Then he noticed a strange shape forming a shadow above him.

"Huh? What the fuck?" he mumbled as he looked upwards.

He could see the shape now. It was clearly a person. A figure that was looking down at him. A sudden rage gripped Mike. This had to be the person responsible for what happened to Jess. At that point, only one thing registered in Mike's mind: vengeance.

Reacting at once in blind anger, Mike raised the rifle, taking aim at the figure above and firing. Mike wasn't sure exactly what happened, either he missed or the figure avoided the shot. Either way, he shouldered the rifle and began to run up the stairs.

'Son of a bitch, you're not getting away from me!' he thought furiously.

Running up the stairs, he very nearly fell through a hold in the ground, but leapt over it at the last second. He stopped only when he had reached the elevator shaft and began to climb it. Seeing a ledge above him, he leapt up to it, only for it to break. He let out a yelp, but quickly caught a lower ledge. Gritting his teeth, he struggled upwards, climbing still, moving as quickly as possible.

'Shit, shit, c'mon!'

Urging himself onwards, although the adrenaline was slowly wearing out now, he began climbing up the right side of a wall, using various protruding bits of metal as hand and foot holds. Gritting his teeth, he jumped over the gap and finally landed on the ledge that the figure had been standing on. Right away, he saw that it was the start of a tunnel. Towards the end of the tunnel was a male figure walking away.

Mike pulled out the rifle. 'It's him, that's gotta be the guy.' He pulled the trigger, only for the gun to jam.

Mike's anger gave way to dismay at that and he cursed angrily. "What? Come on, come ON!" he growled, throwing the now useless gun aside. "Piece of shit..."

Looking up, he saw the man jumping down a hole and a gate beginning to close.

"Christ!" he yelled as he took off running. "Gotta make it!"

He dropped and slid along the ground, only just making it past the gate before it fully closed. Catching his breath, Mike struggled upright.

'Dammit, gotta keep after him. Can't let what happened to Jess...'

He shook his head. He had to focus on following and finding out who this guy was, then he'd get his revenge. Spotting an older style lantern, Mike quickly claimed it, turning it on with his lighter before picking it up and following the path that the figure took. He leapt down the hole and made his way out of the mines and into the snow.

"Oh, fuck." he muttered as the cold finally bit at him.

But then he saw it; a strange large building in the distance. He could just make out the man that he saw earlier walking up the path towards it.

"Jesus..." he whispered to himself. "The fuck is that place?"

He slowly and carefully began to follow the path himself.

* * *

Slowly, with his head pounding from the blow he had received, Chris recovered consciousness.

"Ungh, ugh.. What the..." he groaned.

He slowly stumbled to his feet, picking up a flashlight that had been put next to him.

"Oh no..." he choked out, remembering what had happened. "Ashley!"

He immediately looked around, seeing no sign of her. He began to search, looking around wildly, using the flashlight to aid him.

"Ash...ASH?!"

He exited the kitchen and spotted something on the floor. Picking it up, he saw that it was Ashley's coin purse.

"Not good..." he muttered. "Not good at all."

He hurried onwards, searching all the more frantically after seeing a horrific sight; bloodstains decorating a wall. He began to fear for Ashley's life.

'Please don't let her be, please...' he thought desperately.

He soon spotted a door that led outside, wide open. He hurried out and began calling out as he began to follow the path.

"Ash! ASHLEY! Ashley! Anyone out there? Ashley? Ash...? ASH?!"

But all of his calls went unanswered, only increasing his panic.

He came to a fork in the road and initially tried to turn left, only for a mannequin to spring up, clad in a scarecrow mask.

"WHOA!" he cried out, utterly aghast. "What in the hell? Who would do this?"

Looking past it, he was greeted by the unwelcome sight of a severed pig's head. Shivering in disgust, he turned and followed the other path, heading towards the old shed.

He quietly entered, not seeing anything, save for what the light from his flashlight showed him. He bit his lip as he slowly walked.

'What is going on here? Wait, that's...'

He could hear quiet sobbing and immediately recognized that the person crying as Ashley. Just then, a cage dangling from the roof fell, nearly landing on him.

He leapt back. "HEY, GOD DAMMIT!"

"Chris…?" Ashley called out, hearing him yell.

Reacting at once, Chris looked around wildly. "Ash, I'm here!"

"Please..." she choked out through sobs. "Help me..."

Trying to follow her voice, Chris spoke again. "I'm coming, Ash. Just kept talking to me! What happened?"

"Chris, he tied me up..." Ashley sobbed. "I can't move!"

Even more worried than ever now, terrified for her safety, Chris spoke again. "Ashley, I'm gonna get you out of this, don't worry!"

"I'm really scared, Chris!" she replied, her voice trembling. "Hurry, please! Oh God, Chris! You have to get me out of here before he comes back!"

Chris continued to follow her voice until suddenly, a light flared, revealing a horrific scene. Chris gaped in sheer horror at the sight before him.

A mesh cage prevented him from getting any closer. There was a small gate set in the cage on his right hand side, but it was clearly locked. Before him was a lever in the middle position, it could be turned left or right. What disturbed him most was that on the panel behind the lever, two pictures of two very familiar people were shown. Looking up, he saw Ashley and next to her, out cold, was Josh. They were attached to a large metal board, held up by their arms, secured in chains. Beneath them were mine cart tracks which joined into a single track. What chilled Chris to the bone, however, was the mine cart itself, sitting at the end of this track. On it, situated so that it would be at waist height of the two captives, was a coldly gleaming circular saw.

"Ungh...Chris..." Ashley spoke weakly, squinting against the light. "Are you there?"

Before Chris could respond, another voice, distorted, spoke up, coming through speakers.

"Hello."

Ashley screamed and Chris jumped, looking around.

"And thank you all for joining me." it continued.

Freaking out, Ashley cried out to her fellow captive, "JOSH! Oh my GOD! JOSH, WAKE UP!"

"Huh?" Josh groaned as he finally recovered, horror dawning as he realized his position. "What…? What is this?"

Acting frantically, Chris tried to open the door, to force it, but to no avail.

Detached and casual, the distorted voice continued. "Tonight we're going to conduct a little experiment. A sort of test."

Just hearing those words struck fear into the hearts of all three of them.

Trying to struggle against his bonds, Josh cried out, "Ashley, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" she screamed, totally freaking out.

Chris found himself breathing heavily, his heart thumping, terror coursing through his veins. What was going on? Was he going to watch his friends die?

"Now, for this experiment," the voice continued, "We'll need the cooperation of our two test subjects...Joshua and Ashley..."

"Holy shit, oh my God..." Josh gasped as he realized with dawning horror what that meant.

Ashley realized too, and took another panic attack.

The voice then revealed the true horror of its plan. "But we're going to need one more brave participant to help decide...which subject will live and which will die."

"OH NO! MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH GOD, CHRIS! GET US OUT OF HERE!" Ashley screamed, completely losing it.

Josh, sadly, wasn't much more composed himself. "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! LET ME DOWN FROM HERE, YOU MANIAC!"

"Please, please, please, everyone calm down." the voice stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's all very simple."

Chris shook his head. 'Simple? What's fucking simple about this, psycho?'

Chris realized then that this person had to be the masked man who had attacked him and Ashley earlier.

The psycho then gave his instructions. "Christopher, you will find a lever placed directly in front of you. All you have to do... is choose who you will save!"

Chris froze. This whack-job was forcing him to choose something so horrific. He had to kill either Ashley or Josh in order to save the other.

Ashley broke into a blind panic again, just as she began recovering from the last time. "Oh no... Please! This can't be happening! Oh God, oh God, oh God! This isn't right..."

"Shit...shit...no!" Josh cried out, before forcing himself to calm down. "Okay...okay...okay...okay, this is gonna be okay..."

Chris paced back and forth, panicking himself as the stress of what he had just been told hit him hard.

"Oh Crap. Oh Crap. Oh Crap. Oh Crap. Oh Crap." he muttered to himself frantically.

Josh tried to reason with him while Ashley pleaded desperately.

"Dude... Buddy... Let's just think about this for a minute..." he said as calmly as he could.

Ashley began crying in despair. "Oh my God! CHRIS! You CAN'T LET ME DIE!"

"Just, just, just..." Chris stammered, feeling dizzy from too much pressure. "Gimme a second, I, I can't think straight, shit..."

They watched him frantically as he thought about it. He thought as quickly as he could about everything; his friendship with Josh, his crush on Ashley, too much was whirling through his mind. He soon made his choice, however. No matter what he chose, it would be gut-wrenching to him, but he went with his heart.

"Ashley, I'll get you out of this! I won't let you die!" he cried.

Ashley's relief was palpable. "Oh God, thank you! Oh, thank you, thank you!"

"NO, please no!" Josh cried out, shock and anger waging war over his features.

Hand trembling, Chris turned the lever and the saw blade started up. The track points switched and the cart began to slowly move.

Seeing the path that the cart was taking, Josh cried out, "AAHHH! NO, CHRIS!"

The Psycho spoke again. Chris could almost hear his grin. "Ah...I see. You have chosen to save...Ashley."

"Oh...oh no..." Chris stammered, unable to believe that he had to make such a choice and now watch the consequences. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..."

"OH GOD, JOSH!" Ashley screamed, realizing what was about to happen.

Freaking out entirely, Josh began screaming at him. Chris spoke across him at the same time while the saw blade edged ever closer.

"I thought we were FRIENDS, man! I thought we were FRIENDS! Why would you DO THIS?!" Josh yelled desperately.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! THIS IS MADNESS! PLEASE!"

The saw blade was nearly reaching Josh and he cried out again. "NO! OH GOD, WHAT DID I DO?!"

He never finished his statement, for at that moment, he just screamed as the saw started to cut him open.

"Stop it! You can't do this! Please, no!" Chris screamed. "Oh Josh! Josh, I'm so sorry!"

Hearing Josh's screams, Ashley continued to freak out, eyes clenched shut. "OH NO! MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH GOD, CHRIS! GET US OUT OF HERE!"

Josh only stopped screaming once the saw finished its bloody work, and just like that, it was over. Ashley, now spattered across the left side of her face and clothes with the blood, began to turn her head.

Not wanting her to witness the horror that was nearly making him throw up, Chris spoke sharply. "No, no, no, D-don't look, Ashley. Don't look!"

"Why can't I look, Chris? Please tell me he's okay, please!" Ashley pleaded, yet conceded to Chris's words, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

At that moment, the gate opened and Chris rushed in. He quickly got to work, trying hard not to look at Josh's corpse for longer than he had to.

"I'm coming, Ash. I'm gonna get you..." he said as he began untying her. She wept, either in terror or relief, or maybe both, he couldn't say. "Shhh, stop, please. Come on, come on, let's get you down... Come on... We're gonna get you out of here…"

Ashley finally felt the ground beneath her feet and Chris began escorting her away.

'He saved me. He and Josh have been friends for years...' she couldn't help but think to herself. 'But he chose to save...me.'

She opened her eyes, only to scream in dismay at the sight of Josh's mangled body. Chris quickly covered her eyes and began escorting her, sobbing and shaking, from the shed. They kept going, both in tears and both traumatized by what they had just been a part of.

"Chris, Ashley!" they heard Matt's voice calling to them.

Looking up, they spotted him and Leah rushing over to them. Leah's eyes instantly widened when she got a good look at Ashley.

"Blood!" she gaped. "Whose blood is that, Ash? Chris, what happened?"

Matt was immediately worried, asking if they were okay.

"J-Josh..." Chris choked out through his tears.

"Josh what, dude?" Matt asked softly, seeing Chris's distress.

Breathing shakily, Chris admitted, "He's dead... Right in front of us, man."

Both Matt and Leah froze at that.

"What are you talking about?" Leah demanded at once.

"There's a maniac..." Chris choked out.

"Maniac?" Matt echoed, his worry now increasing tenfold.

Leah shook her head. "Oh my God, we gotta get outta here."

Matt, however, was confused. "I don't understand. What happened?"

Chris tried to compose himself, but couldn't. In the end, he gave a broken and choked account of what had happened in the shed.

"There's a maniac! And...he was... There was a saw...and it was either him or Ash and I didn't know what to do!"

Ashley sobbed at that and Chris continued.

"Cut right through him and... Spilling out fucking everywhere."

Leah reacted in horror and utter disgust. "WHAT?! OH my God, Chris! What?!"

Chris whimpered as he added, "I-I killed him! I-I killed him..."

He kept lamenting that one fact while Leah and Matt tried to calm him down, Leah still insistent on going to get help.

"We're gonna figure this out, man." Matt said, trying to reassure Chris.

"Matt, we need to go get help. Now." Leah said firmly.

"Leah..." he replied, shaking his head. "We should look for the others."

Leah nodded. "Yeah, but we still need to get help. Where are the others? Mike and Jess went off to that cabin and Sam..."

Chris then realized, to his horror, "I think she's still in the lodge!"

He didn't need to finish. She was there, all alone.

"Fine, fine." Leah replied, keeping a cool head. "You're right. Get everyone else together. But if there's a maniac running around, I think we need to get some help too, right? Not just wait around?"

Matt wasn't so sure. "But what about...?"

Leah was vehement, however. "We'll figure this out. Trust me, bro. I know Mike better than any of you. I know that he can keep himself and Jess safe. Chris, Ash, you guys go and get Sam. Matt and I will try to get help, okay?"

Finally recovering their composure enough to agree, Chris and Ashley immediately headed back to the lodge while Leah and Matt began heading for the cable car station, determined to find anything that would aid them in sending for help.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	6. Chapter 5

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 5 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yes indeed, this is true.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Mike crouched by a wall, near the building he had seen. He ached all over from his constant running. The cold bit into his body and he was still trying to process what he had seen, back in the mines with Jess.

"Jesus." he muttered, ducking down before he was seen.

The stranger that he had followed from the mines, the one he was sure was behind what had happened to Jess, was walking up the path towards the building. Mike had heard growling and, peeking over the wall again, saw that the stranger wasn't alone. Two wolves were with him. The stranger began to turn his head.

"Dammit." Mike muttered, ducking again.

He watched as the stranger seemed to close a door in the side of the building before moving to the front of the building and entering.

"Alright..." Mike muttered to himself. "Let's get a closer look."

He grunted, trying to ignore the pain as he climbed over the wall, still carrying his lantern. Walking towards the building, his mind replayed those last horrifying moments again and again.

'Dammit, Jess. I'm so sorry, I...I swear I will get this guy. He will pay for what he did to you.'

He paused by the door. He wondered if he should risk it. He then decided to check what the stranger had been doing first, in case it offered an alternative. He soon figured out where he was when he came across a sign on the building, labeling it as condemned, yet also identifying it as a sanatorium.

"Awesome. Why wouldn't I end up on the creepiest place on planet Earth?" Mike remarked sarcastically.

He reached where the stranger had been and found a metal plate against the wall. Grunting and muttering in exertion, he pushed it aside to reveal, just as he had suspected, another entrance to the sanatorium, leading into the basement by the look of it. He carefully clambered in and jumped down to the floor before looking around.

"Dammit. Alright..."

He knew that he was going in blind. The lantern was his only light source and he had no idea of the layout of the building. Still, he continued onwards, searching the building as thoroughly as he could. There wasn't much room to move about, but he saw a hole in the ceiling. If he get up to the elevated path, he could then hopefully find something to use to climb through it and that would hopefully take him into the main building.

Careful searching turned up a barrel, which he set the lantern on and, preparing himself, he began pushing it until it was in perfect position. Retrieving the lantern, he climbed onto the barrel and up onto the elevated path. He couldn't believe his luck when he found solid footing in the form of a broken machine on its side, right underneath the hole. He wasted no time climbing up and poking his head out of the hole, seeing his immediate surroundings.

"Whoa, that's different." he commented as he pulled himself up onto what appeared to be the main floor of the building.

The sanatorium was in complete disrepair. It was clear that some parts of it had completely collapsed. There were fallen walls and Mike was certain that some of the doors were busted. The only plus side he could see right now was that he was out of the snow, away from the freezing cold. It helped him focus his mind on his pursuit.

Knowing that he had to start somewhere, he approached the first door that didn't seem to be a dead end, apparently leading to the chapel, according to the sign. Peeking through a window by the door, he saw the stranger again, throwing something to the two wolves, who began eating it.

"Whoa, what the…?" Mike whispered, praying it an old-fashioned dog bone or animal meat and not human.

Trying the door, he found, to his frustration, that it was locked. He needed a keycard of some sort. He peeked through again and saw that the stranger was gone and the wolves were just leaving. Mike had no choice now. He'd have to search wherever he could, leaving no stone unturned, to find the keycard.

Turning away from the chapel, he began his search in the very hall he was currently in. All his search turned up was administration notes to the sanatorium staff about the arrival of a group of miners who had been caught in a cave-in at the mines. It was dated 1952 and Mike suddenly remembered the map he had found when he and Jess had passed through a section of the mines, detailed sections of the mine that were unstable. The notes also mentioned that the press were being forced away from the building.

Mike couldn't deny that he didn't like what he was discovering, which appeared to be a decades-old cover-up. He continued his search, however. All of this could wait until he found that man and made him pay.

'Gotta keep moving. C'mon, it's gotta be here somewhere.' he told himself.

However, he was once again confronted with the 1952 mine mystery when, while searching the admin office, he came across a broken camera and a partially opened safe with a wooden stake next to it.

"Whoa, someone really wanted to take a peek inside." he noted, before finishing the job.

Inside, he uncovered thirty clocking-in cards for miners. He deduced that this was the number of miners caught in the cave-in. He still couldn't understand about the broken camera, only that the damage looked deliberate. Mystery was piling upon mystery. Mike briefly considered that maybe this stranger was looking into this 1952 mystery and these were clues that he had gathered. It appeared that the sanatorium, which seemed the center of said mystery was also, conveniently, his base.

Shaking his head, Mike reminded himself, 'But then, why attack Jess? What is he hiding? What is he up to?'

Resuming his search for the keycard, Mike began heading down the corridor, towards what the signs indicated was the morgue. Just what he needed to cheer himself up, huh? There were still a couple of offices just before the steps leading down to the morgue that were accessible, so Mike checked them first.

In the first office, he found an old newspaper detailing an assault on a reporter, suddenly making sense of the broken camera.

"Huh, intrigue on Blackwood Mountain." Mike mused.

It was clear now that something was definitely being hidden here, covered up, especially when the other office yielded medical reports that did not tally with Mike's findings so far. The report was on only twelve miners, not thirty. Eighteen were unaccounted for.

Perplexed, but by no means distracted, Mike made his way down the steps towards the morgue. In the outer corridor, he came across a partially open room. Debris prevented him from actually entering, but he could see a bird sitting on a table right by the door and embedded in said table was a machete.

'Ugh, just great. Well, I think I'm gonna need a weapon. Better than nothing.' he told himself, before reaching for it.

The bird cawed and flew away while Mike was able to finally pull the machete free. Grimacing, he stuck it in his belt and continued his search of the morgue itself. Noticing an odd shape behind a curtain, he pulled it aside to find a restraining chair, soaked in blood.

"Holy shit..." he gasped. "Ugh, what happened here?"

His continued exploration of the morgue offices and rooms led him to find another part of the 1952 mystery: a telegram, which seemed to indicate that there were indeed only twelve miners brought to the sanatorium, but thirty had indeed gone down the mines during that fateful excursion and that a massive cover-up was underway.

Mike shook his head at the fear of reporters flooding the place. 'Gee, who wouldn't want press snooping around in this paradise?'

His search led to another room, of which he could not identify the original purpose. Whatever the room used to be, it now only featured several tables and boxes and, strangely enough, a moving arm attached to a table, which jerked back and forth at irregular intervals.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa?" Mike spluttered as he approached. "Is this what he was feeding them?"

He shuddered at that. Had the wolves devoured human flesh? He shook his head, just seeing it was unnerving. He quickly turned away and looked around, trying to figure out where to go next.

Luckily, he got a hint as he approached one door and the temperature dropped. Mike recalled from various crime dramas that he sometimes saw that morgues had to be relatively cold places. It had to be through here.

Entering the morgue, he was face-to-face with a strange, deformed, but still human skull on a shelf.

'This place just gets better and better.' he thought sarcastically.

Continuing his search, he found, to his frustration, that the door out was locked and required a keycard, the same keycard needed for entering the chapel, too.

He growled as he turned to survey the room again. 'You've gotta be kidding me.'

There was only one place he hadn't searched. Three, actually. Three body drawers, the only ones not rusted shut. Forcing himself, Mike examined them. One brought out a name tag of a man named Nicholas Bowen. The second was a death certificate for a Sarah Smith. It was clear that they were part of the 1952 mystery, especially the death certificate, which seemed to indicate that Sarah had been partially...eaten by something with very human teeth.

Opening the third drawer, Mike thought disgustedly to himself, 'Okay, is drawer number three the winner?'

Inside was an uncovered body. Mike nearly threw up, especially when a rat climbed out of the corpse's mouth. Containing himself, he was able to spot just what he needed: the chapel keycard on the body. He picked it up and turned away gratefully.

He reached the locked door again, unlocked it, and, taking the keycard with him, entered the next corridor, which appeared to be in the back part of the chapel. He began climbing the stairs when he was ambushed by one of the wolves. Crying out, he ran for his life, the wolf right on his heels, growling and snapping at him. With a mighty effort, Mike escaped the wolf, slamming the door shut behind him.

Fighting desperately for breath, pretty sure that he was going to give himself a heart attack at this rate, he realized that he was in the upper levels of the chapel and could see down below. He needed to get back to the chapel's main door, so he followed the path and climbed down a fallen staircase.

"Oh right, back in here." he muttered with relief.

He was back in the main entrance, steps away from the chapel's main doors. He hurried over as best as he could in his weakened state and opened them before entering. Just then, he heard a growl and turned sharply to his left.

The other wolf was there, growling at him. On instinct, Mike almost lashed out, but then told himself not to. Instead, he stepped back, holding up his hands. The wolf growled, but in a less threatening manner.

"Okay...okay..." Mike said softly. "Easy boy, easy, easy... That's a good boy."

He gently edged to the side and the wolf let him pass, settling itself down on the floor. Mike let out a relieved sigh and began to examine the room, his first point of interest in the run down, rubble-filled chapel was a wooden chest filled with bones.

"Maybe this'll keep the wolves fat and happy." he said to himself, almost laughing in relief.

It seemed his earlier concern had been wrong. Taking one of the bones, he approached the wolf and whistled, getting its attention. He held out the bone and the wolf slowly came closer before gently taking it from his hand. Mike stroked the wolf and smiled as the animal seemed much more friendly now.

One he finished petting the wolf, Mike resumed his search around the room, now no longer paranoid about being attacked from behind by the wolf. He spotted a cigar box on a table in the middle of the room and recognized the brand from the cigar stub he had seen earlier that night.

'Ahh...the stogie stash exposed.'

Something else caught his eye: a wall that was covered in various newspaper clippings, all of them about strange disappearances, and that did not make Mike any happier about the man he was pursuing.

One thing he did benefit from during his search was a slightly tattered olive green army jacket. Smirking, he pulled it on, relieved for the extra heat it provided.

"So...what have we here?"

Through a gap in a mesh fence, just behind where the jacket hung, was a gun. Reaching in, Mike tried to grab it, but couldn't reach it. Shaking his head, he instead reached lower, to a leg holding the shelf against the wall and, with a bit of effort, pulled it off, making the gun slide into his hand. He smiled. He still had the machete, and now had a gun. Now he felt like he had a better chance.

He approached the door at the back of the room, the only possible exit that the stranger could have taken. Mike shot the lock and moved into the next room. Searching this area unearthed only a large stone memorial to 'the miracle men', the twelve surviving miners, still with no mention of the missing eighteen.

Following the large staircase downwards into an underground area, he found another gate blocking his path and several barrels.

"Of course it's locked." he muttered.

Shoving an empty barrel out of the way, he took aim and fired, breaking the lock.

But his victory was short-lived as he tried to go through the gate, for he then saw the fire. Some of the barrels were filled with flammable liquid and some had spilled onto the floor and the sparks from shooting the lock had ignited it. Seeing this, he began to back off.

"Shit, shit, shit..." he cried out as he tried to flee.

"URGH!" he cried out as the small explosion occurred, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

* * *

The Psycho smirked as he watched the cameras, his face still hidden by his white and red terror clown mask. His black jumper suit allowed him plenty of easy movement. Black gloves and boots covered his hands and feet.

The camera showed various areas all over the mountain, including footage of Sam in the bath, Chris and Ashley on their way back to the lodge, and Matt and Leah entering the area with the upper cable car station, the gate closing behind them.

The Psycho reached out and casually tapped the mouse button, locking the gate. Then he stood up and left. He had an appointment to keep with his next target.

* * *

Leah and Matt walked together, mostly quiet, still processing everything that had been revealed to them.

"I can't believe Josh is dead." Leah said at last.

Matt sighed sadly. "I can't believe how he died..."

Leah shook her head. "No, I mean, what if they were wrong?"

"What?"

She turned to him. "Maybe we should've checked the shed, to see if it was really true."

Matt grimaced at that. "I don't know..." he replied hesitantly. "There are some things that, once you see them, you can never un-see them."

Leah sighed, shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess... But some things you have to see for yourself."

Matt shuddered. "I'll take their word for it."

Leah did not reply, apparently thinking that maybe Matt was right, or she just didn't want to press the matter further.

The duo approached the cable car station, only to note something odd, yet in a way, a blessing in disguise, what with there being a psycho running around. An axe was lodged in the door to the cable car station.

"Look, an axe..." Matt saw it first. "I feel better with an axe."

Leah nodded. Now they'd have a means to protect themselves. Matt pulled the axe from the door and Leah stepped forward to try and open it.

But to her surprise, it wouldn't open. "What the? Urgh, it's locked!"

Matt sighed and shook his head. "Well, I could use the axe, but if that psycho is nearby, he'd hear us."

Leah sighed. "That's true, I... Hey, check it out."

He spotted it right away when Leah pointed it out: an ajar window.

"I...I could fit through there." Leah remarked, before sighing. "But...we don't know what's in there.

Matt shook his head, not willing to risk his sister's safety, and approached the door instead.

"Okay, fine. Here it goes." he muttered. "I'm gonna huff, and I'm gonna-"

"Not the time, Bro." Leah remarked softly.

Nodding, Matt attempted to smash the door down with his axe. His second attempt caused the axe to stick and he had to wrench it free. The third blow, however, was successful and they entered the cable car station.

Leah turned on the lights and they froze. The station was devastated, trashed, and to top it all off, threatening graffiti adorned the walls.

"Oh, God damn..." was all Matt could manage to say.

Leah shook her head in disbelief, uttering in barely coherent form, "What happened?"

"This is crazy..."

"We were just here, like, a few hours ago." Leah burst out. "This must have just happened!"

Matt did not like this, not one bit. "What the fuck is going on?"

They continued to look around at the devastated cable car station. Finally, Leah came to the only possible conclusion that she could reach.

"It's gotta be the guy, the one who got to Chris and Ash...and Josh..."

Matt knew what this meant and shared his worry. "He's gotta know that this is the only way out."

It was then that Matt spotted the cable car, hanging a distance out from the station. "Look, the cable car's all the way up there." he pointed it out.

Leah looked at it and bit her lip. "Urgh, not good. C'mon, let's look around, there's gotta be something here."

"I..I hope so." he replied honestly.

Leah looked around as Matt tried to find anything useful in the mess. Both of them commented on the decrepit state of the station while Matt finally righted a map of the area.

"Hey, look. A fire tower..." he pointed out.

Leah, however, was more focused on other matters. "Hmm, that could be useful, but let's keep looking. We might still have chance here."

Matt sighed, but nodded, and after being freaked out by graffiti of the word 'die' repeated over a whole wall in paint that was disturbingly the same color as blood, Matt examined the control console and saw one great stumbling block: the control console was still operable, but without the keys, it wasn't going to work.

"Great, no keys, no cable car. Sooo..." Matt muttered in frustration, "Back to square one."

Leah sighed, but then her eyes widened. "What about the fire tower that you mentioned? On the map you found?"

Matt was a little taken aback. "Well, I guess it's an option..."

"We don't really have a lot of other options right now. Maybe it is has a radio or something." Leah replied hopefully. "I mean, it would, wouldn't it?"

Matt sighed and said, "I dunno, Sis. That could work, but I kinda think that we should get back to the lodge for now, everyone's been split up for so long."

"I know, I do, but...we've still gotta get help, Matt. We can't just stay here on the mountain with a killer running loose." Leah replied logically.

"Yeah...you do have a point."

"If we go back and find out that the others are fine but we didn't get any help..."

Matt simply shook his head and shrugged. "Well, if you feel that strongly about it..."

"I do, Matt. Really. What about you?"

He insisted that he did and together, they left the cable car station, looking for a way around.

Leah spotted a way and tried to approach it. It was a ladder on the side of the building, but it was out of reach.

Matt approached. "Uh, Leah, are you...?"

"Give me a boost and I can get us outta here." Leah said quickly.

Laughing, Matt helped Leah up to reach the ladder and they quickly climbed down. Now they could shimmy around a lower ledge of the cable car.

When they reached the bottom, Leah noticed a heavy duty flashlight and picked it up. "Look at this bad boy. You're comin' with me, buddy." She turned it on, grinning. "And just like magic. Come on, we can totally get out of here this way!"

They began to move around the side of the building. Unfortunately, Leah misjudged the length of the ledge and nearly fell, but her brother caught her just in time.

"Whoa, you alright?"

She gasped, but nodded. "Yeah, uh...thanks..."

Matt shook his head. "Here, let me go first."

Leah just nodded and did so and they managed to work their way around and make it to the next ledge.

"Okay...okay..." Matt breathed, finally letting the tension release from his muscles.

Leah let out a slow breath, too. "Holy cannoli, thank God that's over."

Matt nodded and they began to head up the snowy path, searching for the best route to the fire tower.

"Wait, what if it doesn't work?" Leah asked suddenly.

"What?"

"The radio." she emphasized.

"It'll work." he tired to reassure her.

Leah shook her head and theorized, "Okay, but if it doesn't, we need a backup plan."

Matt thought for a moment. "Maybe...we can just climb down."

Leah looked at hm strangely. "Climb down what?"

"The mountain."

"Are you serious? This mountain is huge!" She almost choked on her words.

"What's the big deal? It's not like it's floating in the sky."

"It might as well be, it's pitch black out! We'd freeze!" Leah replied.

Trying to calm things down, Matt gently tried to reassure her. "Hey, hopefully we won't have to."

Leah raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What? Do you think that the psychopath is just going to give up and run away?"

Matt shook his head. "No...but maybe we should find a safe spot, hole up, and wait it out. It'll be a lot easier to figure this all out in the morning."

Leah sighed, but nodded. She had to admit, the late hour was catching up with her, too.

"As long as we don't hide in the lodge." she said at last. "That's where he expects us to go."

Matt nodded slowly at that and they soon reached the top of the path. They could see the fire tower, but still lacked a path to get there. As they searched, Matt entered a covered wooden bridge, stepping on a floorboard which gave a strange creak. Sharing a look with Leah, he lifted the floorboard and pulled out a phone, one which Leah recognized at once.

"Whoa, this is Beth's phone."

Matt was incredulous. "I thought the police, like, swept the whole area?"

Leah shrugged. "Well, looks like they missed this."

Sighing, they resumed their search, only to find themselves standing by a clifftop. Matt grimaced, seeing that it was a hell of a long way down. Sharing a look, they turned around and began to head back until a loud, strange noise caught their attention.

They both spun around.

"Matt, what is that?!" Leah cried out.

Matt shook his head. "I don't know!"

But he soon got his answer, for at that moment, a horde of caribou deer emerged and closed in on them, backing them to the edge of the cliff.

"Jesus!" Leah hissed through gritted teeth. "Shit!"

Matt glanced behind them to the long drop. "Oh...damn..."

They were trapped.

* * *

Unaware of everything else that had been happening, Sam lounged in the bath. Her iPhone was situated on the wide edge, far enough away from the water to avoid any problems. Her headphones were plugged in and she was listening to her music. She was deeply into the music and rocking her body slightly in motion with the music, eyes closed.

Therefore, she was unaware of the black clad figure with the red and white terror clown mask standing there, watching her. He had already retrieved what he'd come for, so he turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Sam only barely heard the door, but she felt the gust from it, as well as noticed the candle extinguishing from it, too. She pulled out her headphones, pushing them and her iPhone away from the ledge completely.

"Hello?" she called out. "Guys? What are you doing out there?"

She glared and shook her head, muttering, "Being creepy?"

She got no response, however. Sighing heavily, she began to climb out of the bath.

"Oh...kay..."

She quickly retrieved a white towel nearby and wrapped it around herself, covering herself as best as she could. Holding a hand against the towel for added security, she approached the chair which she had laid her clothes on, only to stop and stare in disbelief. Her clothes were gone, all except for one sock.

"What? My clothes? Oh, come on." she complained, before calling out, "That's not funny, guys! Seriously!"

She stalked over to the bathroom door, opening it, and stepped out into the corridor. She looked around and couldn't see or hear anyone. Instantly, her mind flashed back to when they pranked Hannah and she felt uneasy. She glanced down to make sure that the towel covered her and she began to walk.

"Chris? Josh?" she called out, hoping for some reassurance from the least likely suspects. "What the hell?"

Suddenly, a loud noise startled her, making her stagger back, but it was just the old grandfather clock chiming.

"Ugh, stupid clock."

She was now out on the balcony and called out again, "Chris? Mike? Anyone? This is really getting out of hand, okay?"

She shook her head and continued. "It was all very funny, ha ha, look at Sam walking around in a towel, but now I just really want this to be over, alright? You had enough?"

Still no answer, but she noticed something that bothered her. Next to the stairs was a balloon with an arrow on it, pointing down. She bit her lip and made her way downstairs. She was still damp, but thankfully not dripping wet. It still didn't make her feel any less embarrassed, though.

She reached the lower main room and looked around before stalking out to the front entrance.

"Can I have my clothes back now or am I supposed to hang out in a towel for the rest of the weekend?" she demanded, only to again be greeted with silence. "Towel it is, then."

It was then that something caught her eye: a strange business card for a slaughterhouse. On the back was a request for dead pigs and circular saw blades. While confusing, Sam left it. She had more pressing issues, as she returned and decided to continue following the balloons that showed up, guiding her apparently to the basement.

"Okay, if you were trying to freak me out, guess what? You succeeded." she said, more trying to reassure herself as she was getting unnerved by all of this.

She found that, to her surprise, the normally locked cinema room doors were wide open. She picked up the flashlight that Josh had used earlier and turned it on, stepping into the room, unaware of the masked figure in the shadows by the stairs.

"Where the hell are you guys?" she demanded. "Whoa, this is weird..."

The room was actually set up and seemed to be showing a movie, or rather, the static when a movie wasn't in focus.

Sam exhaled sharply. She was at the end of her tether now. "Hey! Guys, come ON! I am DONE with this! I really don't appreciate the silent treatment here!"

But her angry tirade was cut off by the cinema doors slamming shut...by themselves. Sam screamed, and again when a distorted voice began to talk.

"Hello, Samantha." it said, sounding rather sarcastic and mocking. "Looking for me? I don't think you'll have much luck by looking, Samantha."

Sam looked around wildly, her heart pounding.

"What the...what the hell…?" she whispered in fear.

The distorted voice spoke again. "You're only going to see what I want you to see, and I have quite a lot to show you."

Sam shook her head. "What is...what is going on?!"

"Open your eyes."

The large screen flared to life properly and Sam turned to face it, eyes widening with shock and revulsion as it showed footage of her in the bath. Someone had been recording her and they had seen her naked.

"Oh my God..." Her words were barely breathed out. She now felt utterly violated.

The distorted voice continued, mocking her. "She's quite beautiful, isn't she? A beautiful bathing bird…"

Sam looked around frantically again. "How? Why? Why did you…?"

"Do you think she has any idea of what lies ahead? Do you think these were the last happy moments of this creature's life?"

An icy stab of fear ran down her spine at those words. "Why are you showing this to me?"

"Why are you watching?"

With a shaky breath, Sam turned around before screaming at what was now being shown: footage of Josh getting cut in half.

"Josh!" she cried. "OH MY GOD, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

The voice, however, took on a more menacing tone at that moment. "I'm going to give you ten seconds. Nine..."

"No, no..." Sam whispered, looking around frantically again, retreating to the nearby wall. "Nonono..."

"Eight...seven..."

"Please, no!"

The door burst open and Sam screamed as the Psycho entered, the grin of his mask likely hiding a sadistic grin of his own.

"Sam." he growled.

In his hand, he held a needle filled with an unknown liquid. Sam's heart raced. There could be anything in that needle. She had to keep it away from her!

"No... No!" she pleaded.

But the Psycho began to draw closer.

Acting in a blind panic, Sam grabbed a nearby vase and threw it blindly at the Psycho, striking his arm and making him stumble. She ran for her life, running through the door at the other end of the room. She was in now in the guest room.

"Shit!" she cried out. She could already hear his footsteps. "Shit, shit, shit."

Wasting no time, she ducked under the bed and shut off her flashlight, staying as still as she could, hoping. The door opened and the Psycho entered. He looked around briefly and then laughed. Sam soon found out why when he grabbed her ankle and began pulling her out from under the bed. She screamed and struggled, managing to grab the bedpost to stop him, but knew it wouldn't last. So, reacting quickly, she lashed out with her free foot, kicking him and making him let go.

She leapt to her feet and ran straight through the guest room door. She ran along the hallway and down the basement, making sure to avoid the damaged step, which she had seen on her previous trip down there. She stopped and looked around. She was in the basement, near to where the boiler was. Still in a panic, she ducked down near where the boiler was located. A damaged pillar was her only cover and only went so far. She instantly shut off the flashlight and waited, fear pumping through her as she squatted, praying silently.

"Sam?" the Psycho called out, slowly walking up until he was level with the pillar. "Why are you hiding?"

Sam went rigid and stayed as still as she could, praying that he wouldn't hear her.

He began to move away, but stopped further up the corridor, blocking her only path.

"Sam...why prolong the inevitable?"

Gritting her teeth against her terror, she stayed put.

He looked around, seemingly at ease. The videos were all the evidence that she needed to show that this man was dangerous.

"Why kid yourself into thinking you can get away? Don't you know that I can smell you, Sam? I can smell your fear."

He laughed darkly. Sam opted to remain where she was. That turned out to be a mistake, for he turned back and walked until he was level with the pillar again and then leapt out the other side, behind her.

"Gotcha! So sorry." he mocked.

Sam screamed as he grabbed her and struggled desperately as he prepared to inject her with the needle. But then she remembered something. The last time she had been there, what she had left was just to her right. Acting with her last strength, she grabbed the baseball bat and smacked the Psycho in the side of the head. He cried out and fell. Breathing heavily and trying to recover her equilibrium, Sam hurried away, turning the flashlight on again, more desperate than ever.

Her heart was pounding, adrenaline fueled by fear filled her, but did nothing except add to her current panic. She reached the end of a cellar corridor to find a door. She struggled to open it, only to find a problem.

So frantic was she, that the words spilled out. "Are you kidding me?" she screamed in despair. "NO HANDLE?!"

She heard laughter. The Psycho had caught up. Screaming, she pulled the nearby wine storage cabinet down. He stopped, however, before it could hit him. But there, on top of it, now fallen right at her feet, was the door handle. She grabbed it and frantically tried to get the door open as the Psycho began to step over the fallen cabinet, stepping right through the wood in his effort to catch her. She finally got through and slammed the door shut, locking it. But there was a grill in the door that was open and the Psycho reached in, grabbing for her.

"Ahh!" she screamed. "Get out!"

She slammed it shut on his hand, forcing him to withdraw before she closed that, too. It could only open from her side. But she couldn't stay there, it was getting more and more dangerous the longer she evaded this man.

She turned and ran to the door at the end, but it was locked. She didn't have time to do anything other than force it. She shoved her whole weight against the door again and again until she finally broke through and fell down the gap into what appeared to be an underground hotel. Wincing in pain at the jarring fall, Sam forced herself upwards and looked around. To her left was a passageway, to her right was an elevator that was half down, yet the doors were still opened, providing her with a place to hide. She made up her mind at once and leapt inside the elevator.

She crouched down, pressing herself against the wall, trying hard to control her breathing and stay still. She could hear his footsteps approaching, but it was too late when she realized her mistake. The flashlight was still on.

"Nice try." the Psycho mocked.

Sam cried out as she was grabbed, but then felt a sharp sting in her neck and was let go. She crumpled into a heap, her last view was the Psycho climbing down into the elevator towards her before everything went black.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	7. Chapter 6

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 6 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Oh yes indeed.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Panic gripping them, Matt and Leah stood warily at the edge of the cliff. The deer surrounded them, some moving a bit closer, but they couldn't move back any further.

"Matt…" Leah queried, trying to keep calm, despite her anxiety. "What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?!"

Matt tightened his grip on the axe for a minute, but then relaxed it. He forced himself to stay calm and focused. He was always the first to admit he wasn't the smartest, but he knew enough about certain subjects and animals were one of them.

He knew that if they stayed calm, they wouldn't be in any danger. "Stay calm... Relax... They're just deer... They just want to check us out, is all…"

"You're sure?" Leah asked, hoping to be reassured.

He gently tried to calm her and, gesturing for her to follow his lead, he began to slowly walk forward. He kept the axe held loose at his side, not in any threatening position. Leah moved slowly, eyes half-closed, as she didn't want to see the herd closing in on her, but couldn't let Matt out of her sight. The deer, however, stepped back, or moved around them, allowing them to walk through the herd without much issue.

However, amongst the deer were their close cousins, the Elk. One was now blocking Matt and Leah's path. Matt stopped, prompting Leah to do the same. The Elk sniffed at him but he did not react, although his nerves were on edge, he suddenly wished he didn't have the axe.

The temptation to use it against this potential threat was strong, especially as more time passed. The Elk sniffed at him but simply would not back down, or even move. Matt could feel Leah getting restless and trembling just behind him. But, resisting the urge to attack, Matt slowly began to move again and to his relief, the Elk backed down.

Finally, they emerged from the herd unharmed and reached a small bundle of rocks that they could climb. Quickly doing so, both Matt and Leah emerged safely from the herd, now on the path that would lead them to the radio tower, amazingly falling into place with their plans.

Letting out a sigh of relief, now that they were finally out of that danger, Leah began to lead the way, holding the flashlight steady again. As they walked, she began thinking carefully.

"So if we do manage to get someone on the radio-"

"We will." Matt insisted.

Smiling at his confidence, she continued. "Then we tell them that we need help. What do we do while we wait?"

Matt thought for a moment. "I guess we go back to the lodge and get everyone else."

"Oh God, not the lodge!" Leah shook her head. "We should stay here, in case whoever it is needs to get back in touch with us."

"Let's just get that radio working first."

Leah silently agreed with him. They'd try and call for help first, then they could worry about what to do next.

They were almost at the tower now, it was just above them, across a small snowy clearing. As they approached the base of the tower, a blinding suddenly light flared to life.

"Ahh, that's freakin' bright!" Leah cried out, holding a hand in front of her eyes.

Matt did the same and grimaced. "No kidding!"

Leah shook her head, frustrated. "I can't see. What is that?"

"It's just a security light." Matt confirmed at last, squinting to try and see. "Motion sensor probably."

Leah bit her lip and followed Matt, squinting her eyes until they were past the light and could see clearly again. They were now at the base of the fire tower and would have to climb the ladders to get up to the main room.

Seeing this, Matt reluctantly put down the axe and they began their climb, with Leah in the lead. Climbing up the second ladder, Leah was caught off-guard by sudden winds and nearly lost her grip.

She grit her teeth and complained, "Why is it so windy all of a sudden?"

Matt did his best to calm her. "We're almost inside."

They climbed the third ladder, finally reaching their destination. Once Leah pushed up the hatch, they got inside, with Matt closing and locking the hatch below them. They were sill wary of the Psycho following them and Matt hoped that it would present at least something of an obstacle.

"You alright?" he asked his sister.

She nodded. They were inside now and it was a bit warmer and she knew what Matt had just done and why.

They began to look around the tower room. Finding the radio, Leah tried to interact with it, but got nothing.

"Urgh, c'mon! Great." she cried, out before realizing, "No power. Gotta be a switch or something around here..."

While looking, she found a locker and opened it, freezing when she saw, stuck to the door, a missing persons poster for Hannah Washington.

She sighed sadly, guilt bubbling inside her. "Sorry, Hannah. You're still missing..."

"After tonight, their disappearance is starting to make more sense." Matt commented.

Leah couldn't deny that he was right, although it made her feel very uneasy.

Resuming their search, they had no choice but to venture outside to the catwalk around the tower room. Exiting through the door once they opened it, Leah searched and then spotted something. It was a box situated against the wall with the words 'Emergency Flare' on it. She opened it to find a flare gun inside.

'Ah, here we go.' she thought.

It could certainly be useful. She thought for a moment and decided to pocket it, since she might need it.

Finally, they found a fuse box. Leah opened it and flicked the switch and grinned as the power flared to life in the tower.

"Fuck yeah! Here we go!"

"Nice work." Matt replied, also grinning.

They headed back inside with Leah adding, "Okay, score one for Matt and Leah."

As they closed the door behind them, Leah jostled a printer on a nearby table, hitting the print button, which prompted it to print out a single sheet.

Picking it up, she remarked, "Oh, it's alive."

Turning it over, she was consumed with guilt again. It was a missing persons poster for Beth Washington.

"Sorry, you're still missing too, Beth."

Matt gently set the paper down, touching Leah's shoulder to reassure her that it wasn't her fault. Nodding, she composed herself and approached the radio.

She got to work, trying to fine tune the radio to pick up any broadcasts that they could communicate with for help. She gasped as she heard one, although it wasn't very clear.

"Ranger service for Blackwood County, over."

"Hello? Anyone there?" she tried, hoping that she could get through. She had found just who they were looking for; the people best equipped to help them.

"Hello! Please say something if you're out there! Please, we need help! Over! Over! Shit."

There was a pause, and then, suddenly...

"...Hello?" the ranger spoke.

Leah's heart leapt and Matt grinned beside her. "Oh my God! Thank God! We need help, please!"

The ranger replied, and it was clear that he had at least picked something up from them. "Hello, is someone trying to contact us? This is the park ranger service for Blackwood County. I'm not getting your signal very well. Please speak slowly and clearly, over."

Leah tried to, but she was too worked up and everything came spilling out. "Please, please, please, please help! Oh my God, we're stuck on Blackwood mountain and there's a maniac-"

"If you can hear this, please repeat your message, as I am unable to understand what you are saying, over. "

Leah grew more desperate. "We need help, please!"

The ranger continued, however. "Hello? Can you please identify yourself? Over."

"Leah, calm down, okay?" Matt told her, softly reassuring her. "You need to stay calm so that they can hear us."

Leah took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She needed to do this right or they'd miss their chance. So, trying hard to maintain her self-control, she did as the ranger requested.

"Oh my God." she whispered, before speaking slowly and clearly. "Okay, this is... My name is Leah... Hello?"

She checked the tuning on the radio as the ranger replied, "You're not coming through clearly. Please repeat, over."

She shook her head and tried to explain, as calmly as possible, what had happened. So she cleared her throat and explained, "We're on...Blackwood Mountain...by the ski lodge. There's a killer and he's after us and he's already killed one of our friends. We need help, over."

Just then, the security light below flared to life again, startling them both.

"Something tripped the motion sensor." Matt muttered, before trying to reassure Leah, "Probably a fucking deer."

Leah was about to reply when the ranger spoke again.

"I read you, ma'am. Please do not leave your position."

Leah and Matt both grinned and relaxed...until his next words.

"We will send out helicopters to get you as soon as the storm has subsided, over." the ranger explained.

Sharing a worried look with Matt, Leah tried to get clarification. She asked intently, "What? When? How long?"

The ranger hesitated before replying, "Dawn, at the earliest. Not until dawn, over."

Before they could say anything else, the hatch banged loudly. Someone or something was trying to enter.

"Jesus!" Matt cried out, stepping back.

Leah backed herself into one of the corners, panicking. "Oh, holy shit!" she cried out.

The banging then stopped and things seemed to calm down until the tower rocked violently and began tipping.

Leah screamed and Matt cried out, both of them stumbling as the tower sagged and rocked again.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" she screamed in raw terror.

Matt could only cry out, "The tower!"

At the same time, Leah yelled, "Oh God!"

The tower began to fall. Matt tried to reach for Leah, but was unable to do so. Finally, the tower lay on its side. Leah had fallen and landed hard on one of the windows, which had cracked badly. She was now sporting a bloody nose and a scratch on her forehead from the impact. Matt, meanwhile, was hanging from a support beam, clutching it for dear life.

"No..." Leah got out through the pain.

Matt then saw something and cried out. "No, Leah! Leah!"

She managed to turn just enough to see what he saw: the printer was about to fall right on top of her. Crying out, she was unable to roll out of the way as the printer broke through the window. As such, she was now hanging onto one of the catwalk bars with a large gash above her left eyebrow and bleeding, curving around her eye.

"Fuck me! Jesus! Shit!" she cried out.

She barely had time to articulate as Matt also cried out, "OH, SHIT!"

The tower fell more and tumbled down into the mines below.

* * *

"Oh fuck!" Those were the first words out of Matt's mouth as he finally recovered.

The tower had fallen and was now only just hanging. They were underground in the mines that ran under the mountain. Moving slowly and carefully, climbing his way out the tower which shook ominously as he did so, Matt saw that the tower was hanging precariously over a long drop, almost certainly too far to have good survival chances.

"Oh fuck... Dammit, dammit!" he muttered.

"MAAATTT!" Leah suddenly screamed. "MATT, CAN YOU HEAR ME?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

Startled, he moved carefully, calling out as he did so. "I'm comin'! I'm comin'! Leah, this is pretty unsteady over here…"

He said it as a warning, for he now stood, looking over the edge of the tower, which was shaking some more. Leah was there, hanging onto the bars, desperate and clearly terrified.

"Thank God you're alive!" she cried out in relief. "Matt, we need to get outta here, but be careful."

He shook his head. "I'm thinking, let me think!"

She grit her teeth and called back, "Well...I don't want to rush you, but we don't have a lot of time here!"

Matt shook his head. His sister certainly had a point. Nevertheless, it wouldn't do to rush things. That was how plans went horribly wrong. Still, he could understand the tension of this situation. But his concern for her overrode anything else.

"I'm gonna try and get to you and pull you up."

"Just watch yourself, bro."

"I got this, Leah. I got it, don't worry!" he told her. "Just give me a minute to figure out how to do this safely."

Leah bit her lip, trying to calm down. "Right, right..." she replied at last, her voice softer, but she couldn't resist the sarcasm. "Just don't put yourself at risk, okay?"

Smiling a little at that, Matt nodded and tested his weight carefully on the tower. It seemed to be holding for now.

"I'm gonna try and get to you and pull you up." he said at last.

Matt knew that he had to save her, so began to cautiously edge closer to the ledge that Leah was hanging from.

He reached out for her. "I'm coming... Here...ugh!"

Leah screamed and Matt forced himself upright as the tower shook again, falling down a bit, nearly coming completely off the rocks, which were now the only thing holding it up.

"Shit, oh shit!" she cried. "Matt!"

She had fallen and grabbed onto another railing, only now, it was the last one. Another fall and she wouldn't have anything to save herself with.

Matt panicked, trying to equalize his weight. "I don't wanna tip it."

All the same, he couldn't leave his sister hanging there.

But then, Leah suddenly spoke. "Fuck, we're not... Matt, get off the tower! That ledge there? Jump to it!"

"What? Leah…?"

"Just jump!" she cried out, with tears appearing in her eyes. "Forget about me! You need to save yourself! It's too late for me. I won't let you die, too!"

"But..."

"JUST GO!"

Matt groaned and then jumped off the tower, just before it fell. The cacophony of noise and the forceful loss of the tower as he jumped made Matt stumble and fall, blacking out as he hit the ground.

Groaning as he woke up, Matt slowly tried to get to his feet, then suddenly remembering what had happened, looked around wildly.

"Leah?!" But all he saw was carnage, and a few bits of fiery wreckage. "Oh no, Leah... Leah... Leah! LEAH!"

No response. He broke down, staggering to his feet. He couldn't believe it. Was his sister...truly gone?

'She is. No one could survive that. Leah...'

Matt was devastated. Shakily getting back to his feet, he had no choice but to find his way out, despite being hopelessly lost. Suddenly, there was a strange noise that caught his attention and made him even more anxious. For now, he also knew that he wasn't alone down there.

* * *

Back in the lodge, Ashley paced frantically in front of the stairs, clutching her flashlight tightly. She could still feel the stickiness of Josh's blood on the side of her face and clothes. She heard rapid footsteps and looked up, nerves on a hair trigger. It was Chris, hurrying down the stairs...alone.

"Sam wasn't up there?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, I didn't see her. She must have come down here."

As he said that, he gestured to the signs: balloons with arrows and, at least until they faded, damp footprints.

Ashley shook her head. "I haven't seen her, either."

Chris bit his lip, worried. Using his own flashlight, they began to walk towards the stairs leading to the basement, incidentally following the arrows on the balloons. Just then, the candle on the table to Ashley's left suddenly lit by itself.

"Ahh!" she screamed. "Did that just happen?"

Chris was seriously getting freaked out now. "Dammit, what is going on around here?!"

They were all the more desperate to find Sam now, so they continued onwards. As they made their way downstairs and, seeing that the door was open, into the cinema room, Ashley bit her lip.

"Chris..." she said suddenly.

"Sa-!" Chris began to call out, but stopped. "What?"

She shuffled her feet and shyly spoke. "Chris, I just want to say... What happened back there in the shed... I know how hard that was. Josh was your friend..."

He turned to her, shaking his head. "Ashley, stop."

Wincing at the massive bruise on his forehead, just above his left eye, she continued. "No, I want to say... I mean, thank you. Thank you for saving my life."

Chris shook his head. "Ash, what was I gonna do? I...I couldn't let anything happen to you, I couldn't..."

They both stood awkwardly, aware of the various meanings implied by Chris's words.

Finally, Chris broke the silence. "Let's just find Sam, okay?" he said firmly. "That's what we're doing now."

Nodding, Ashley followed Chris as they exited the cinema room and into the hallway, just as the door suddenly slammed shut behind them.

"What the heck?!" Ashley whimpered in despair.

This was seriously doing a number on her nerves. Chris gently put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she exhaled softly, trying to relax. It only lasted until she tried to open the door to the guest room. It suddenly closed, nearly taking her hand with it.

"This is so eff-ed up!" Chris cried out.

Ashley was compelled to agree. All they wanted was to find Sam and get the hell out. She couldn't help but wonder and worry about the others.

"Wait a minute!" Ashley screamed, upon seeing the door to another hallway open by itself and seeing a ghostly figure at the end of it. "Did you see that?"

"Uhh..." Chris replied, turning. "Did I see what?"

"That, Chris! That!" she cried out, gesturing.

Chris shook his head. "What 'that' was that?"

Groaning, she tried to explain. "It was like...a see-through shape, like a ghost."

"Oh boy."

"I'm serious! Why don't you believe me?!" she insisted. "I said I saw it. Doesn't that count for anything?"

Ashley was frantic and Chris wanted to calm her down. This incident in particular was crazy and he didn't want to say the wrong thing.

He tried to help her understand where he was coming from without insulting her. "We've been through Hell tonight. Okay? Your mind is fried. My mind is fried." he explained, adding gently, "I don't even trust what I've been seeing."

Ashley sighed. She had to admit that Chris had a point, but still. "I don't know, I don't know... I just... I saw something, Chris."

He gently touched her arm. "Ash, it's okay. You're just... We're both... kind of out of our heads right now. I mean, we just... We gotta pull it together, okay? You with me?"

She bowed her head and he said softly, "Let's just keep our heads."

"Are we going crazy down here?" she whimpered.

Chris didn't know, but he reasoned, "It's the only place left that Sam could be, Ash."

She agreed and they walked onwards a bit, before stopping again.

"I wish we could just go and find everybody else and-"

"What if Sam needs us?" Chris asked. "What if she's in trouble?"

"Oh, God..."

Just then, the door to basement opened by itself. Steeling himself, Chris gently urged Ashley to follow. She did, and together they made their way down. Once down, they were greeted by a loud nose, followed by a louder one, and then a cabinet to their right jerked as an item flew from the shelf, nearly hitting them. They both leapt back, startled.

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Chris yelled. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

Ashley backed away, freaked out more than ever. "What the HELL is going ON?!"

She turned around to see a rocking horse that was disturbingly mobile. She screamed, getting Chris's attention.

She shook her head, holding up a hand to reassure him. "Oh my god, that scared me."

"You knocked into it, right?" Chris queried, before sounding worried. "You knocked into it?"

Ashley groaned. That was the part that freaked her out. "I don't...I don't think so. I mean, I don't know."

She turned back to Chris, clearly upset. Chris couldn't blame her.

"How did everything get so freaky around here? Doors slamming and candles lighting up out of nowhere and that specter, or whatever it was-"

Chris tried to reason with her. "Ashley, I think you're kind of ignoring what's really happening here..."

Ashley gestured and replied, actually sounding irritated for once, "Don't tell me you didn't see that translucent white figure just passing right by us?"

"We...we could be seeing things-"

"I'm not imagining things!" she insisted.

Chris sighed and replied firmly, reminding her, "Yeah, well, I saw things, too! I saw what happened to Josh in the shed! You know? And that's what I'm worried about!"

Ashley's shoulders slumped, her anger evaporating. She could see the pain and terror in his eyes. "Oh...Chris..." she whispered softly. "I know, I know."

He just nodded and then explained, "You know what I'm really worried about? Okay? I'm worried about Sam! What's happened to her?"

He paused before adding, "If there's some maniac out here, then she could be dead, too."

"Don't say that. Please, Chris."

He nodded and they continued exploring the hallway for any clues. The only thing they saw, however, was a large dollhouse. Taking a closer look, Ashley gasped.

"Look! Look-look-look, Chris!" she said, gesturing for him to come closer. "You can see in the windows."

Chris shook his head, incredulous. "See what? Tiny furniture?"

She rolled her eyes and replied, "No, it's a whole scene with dolls and everything."

Something about what little she could see disturbed her. Seeing this, Chris thought it might be worth taking a closer look. It could be another twisted clue left behind by the Psycho.

But then they hit a snag. The dollhouse had a hidden keyhole and was locked.

"Huh. I guess you need a key if you want to play around in there." he muttered.

Ashley straightened up and looked to her right, down the end of the corridor, and saw the translucent figure again.

She quickly pointed, growing frantic. "Wait! Chris-Chris-Chris-Chris-Chris! The ghost!"

He spun around. "What?!"

She looked at him, incredulous. "Didn't you see it?"

Sheepishly admitting that he didn't, Chris was revealed to be holding his phone.

Ashley glared. "You were looking at your phone, you dip! What are you tweeting?! Hashtag There's a freaking ghost after us?!"

Sighing, Chris tried to calmly explain. "Ash, calm down, okay? There is no ghost here. You're freaked out because of what happened with Josh-"

"You're not paying attention." she hissed. "I saw it, I saw a ghost and it looked like Hannah, it looked like Hannah!"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Chris spluttered. "WHAT?!"

Ashley sighed and admitted, "Or...or maybe Beth."

"Jesus, Ash..." Chris groaned. "What do you think, they followed us up here from the seance?"

Ashley shook her head indignantly. "I don't know, maybe!"

"They didn't, because ghosts don't exist, okay?!" Chris tried to reason with her.

Glaring, she shot back, "Okay, who was talking to us at the seance, Chris?"

Chris admitted that he didn't know, just in time for a scream to rend the air and the picture down the hall flew off the wall.

They watched in stunned silence before Ashley choked out, "What did that?"

Chris was even more freaked than ever now. "How does a picture just jump off the wall like that?"

They walked carefully down the hall and where the picture had been was a hook. On it was a key, a key that looked like it would fit the dollhouse lock. Smiling a little, Ashley took it. Looking back, she saw the ghost again.

"Oh my GOD! There, look there, Chris! You can't tell me you didn't see that!" she cried out.

Only half of her sentence was finished before Chris turned, this time actually seeing the figure and gaping in shock.

"Wow, that's..."

"See? You DO see it!"

"That's..." he stammered. "I dunno, I-I just... This is fucking crazy..."

Ashley couldn't agree more, but they had to press on. They hurried down towards where the ghost had been, realizing it had disappeared near the dollhouse again.

"Chris..." Ashley realized. "It's showing us the way."

Chris didn't reply, so Ashley unlocked the dollhouse and opened the front of it and to her shock, she was confronted with a dollhouse scene of that fateful night where they had played that cruel prank on Hannah.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what is going on here?" Chris gasped.

"Oh God, it's like..." Ashley whispered.

He shook his head, however. "It's not 'like' anything. That's us. Hiding there, waiting for Hannah last year."

Ashley let out a strangled gasp, particularly at Chris saying the word 'us', when he himself hadn't been involved. It still freaked her out, however.

"But it's so accurate. I mean, that's exactly where I was sitting...and that's where Matt was..."

Chris noticed this too and shuddered. It certainly was freaky.

After debating what could possibly be behind this setup, their suspicions ranging from the ghost to the Psycho, they were treated to a doll's head turning to the side and eyes opening, surprising them. They leapt back, but recovered just as the top of the dollhouse opened to reveal something inside. Picking it up, Ashley realized right away what it was.

"It's...it's Hannah's diary..."

Biting her lip, she opened it and read through some pages, reaching the last entry, dated just the day before their last visit to the lodge the previous year.

"'...Everyone being together here...on the mountain...is gonna be so awesome...cozy fires and hot tubs...'" she read aloud. "'And OMG Mike...I am so psyched to spend some time with him...' I can't read this! It's so sad, Chris..."

She put the diary back and then suddenly froze at the sound of a door creaking open. Both sharing a wary glance, they approached the door at the end of the hallway. Suddenly, the ghost appeared, shrieking. Ashley cried out, jumping back. Chris ran forward, crossing the threshold of the door, which slammed shut.

"Oh, Chris, Chris!" she cried out, hanging onto the door.

It opened to her relief and Chris stood there, thankfully unhurt.

"Nothing." he said, looking around warily.

Ashley inhaled sharply. "But you did see it, Chris. For real?"

Chris shrugged and admitted, "I saw...something. But where'd it go?"

Ashley just shook her head, not particularly eager to find out. She entered the next room too and they continued their search for Sam. While searching, Ashley found something strange: a catalogue of sorts, relatively recent.

"Hey, look at this." she said quickly. "Doesn't seem as old as some of the stuff down here."

Chris looked at it too, raising an eyebrow. "A catalogue...for industrial lightbulbs?"

"That is so random."

She turned a page and they both noticed that one of the bulbs was circled, a particularly powerful bulb. Putting it aside as Chris turned away, Ashley spotted a pair of scissors. She quickly picked them up and stowed them in her back pocket, just in case the Psycho appeared again.

It was while they were searching that Ashley found a camera hidden between a pair of boxes.

"Uh...Chris?"

He approached and stopped dead when he saw the camera.

Biting her lip, Ashley asked, "You think it's the guy?"

"Well, that makes sense."

Shaking her head, Ashley muttered, "I don't like being watched."

Chris nonchalantly reached over and turned the camera around.

"Better?" he queried gently.

Ashley rolled her eyes and picked the camera up, talking directly into it. "Go suck an egg!" She put the camera back in the position Chris had turned it to.

Looking up at him, she shrugged. "Now it's better."

Together, they resumed their trek until suddenly, the lodge shuddered and Ashley looked around, worriedly.

"Uh, what was that, huh?"

Chris, however, had stopped, looking through a doorway ahead. "Wait, there's a whole 'nother room through here." he gasped. "It's mammoth."

Ashley groaned, hearing that. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.

However, she followed him and they soon both stopped, gazing in wonder at the ruin of what seemed to be an old hotel, right underneath the Washington's ski lodge.

Walking slowly onwards, Ashley whispered, "Where in the world are we now?"

"Are you kidding me?" Chris exclaimed as he too took in their surroundings.

She turned to him. "Did you know this was here?"

He shook his head. "This? This is like a whole 'nother hotel. I had no idea that this was here."

Ashley shuddered. She was finding out more and experiencing more this night than she ever had in her whole life and she really didn't like it.

Turning to Chris, she said as much. "I don't think I can take any more of this."

Chris nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm about at my limit here, too."

"All I wanted to do was forget last year ever happened..."

"To be honest..." Chris said softly, "I'm not sure what Hannah thought she was doing."

"Yeah, well, you know how it is when you're crushing pretty hard on somebody." she said with a rather knowing tone.

Chris shook his head, however. "Great, so you're basically saying that we put a vulnerable friend in a terrible situation and essentially caused her to run away and never be heard of again?"

"If it was you, don't you think you would have run away?" she asked desperately. "I mean, who likes being made fun of?"

Chris scoffed a little. "People don't make fun of me."

"To your face."

"What?" he gasped.

She shook her head, looking guilty all over again.

"Chris, we made her look so stupid in front of all of her friends and the guy she liked." she explained. "I can't imagine doing anything worse to somebody."

Chris nodded sadly, both of them lost in thought while exploring the hotel.

It was during this search that Ashley found something that confused her and Chris both: a bunch of newspapers telling the story of the escaped convict, but the dates didn't add up. The newspapers were fakes, something which confused both of them. Their exploration led them to a staircase leading further underground.

Ashley, however, was pretty much done in. "You know what, no."

"Ash-"

"No!" she replied, her voice rising. "I've had enough. I'm not going down any further into this nightmare, Chris!"

He nodded sagely. He could understand her reluctance. "Ashley...I understand, okay? I'm really freaked out, too. But if Sam's down there all alone with a maniac and we leave her? We're basically killing her ourselves."

Ashley bit her lip at that. She knew that Chris was right, although it didn't make her feel any better. Still, with a sigh, she chose to swallow down her fears.

"Goddamnit." she muttered.

"Ashley, come on." Chris coaxed gently.

"Why are you always right?"

"I'm not always right." Chris corrected her absently.

She sighed. "Well, when you're right, you're right."

Chris smiled gently to her and admitted, "I don't want to be. I want to leave."

"No, no." she replied, putting on a brave face. "We've gotta find Sam. Let's go."

Nodding, he began to descend the stairs with Ashley following.

Thinking over everything they'd found as she walked, Ashley shook her head. "Chris, I'm gettin' a really weird feeling from all of this."

He turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

Ashley began to sum up her thoughts. "So we're saying that the same guy who made the newspapers also set up the camera, right?"

"Yeah...I think so..." Chris replied.

Ashley shook her head. "It's just... It feels like he's constructing the whole story for us...then watching us run around, freaking out, seeing what we do, like it's...like it's some sort of fucking experiment!"

"Yikes, that...that's kinda..." Chris gasped, shocked. "That actually makes a weird sort of sense..."

Ashley nodded in agreement. Still, they pressed on, searching the corridors and finding, strangely enough, sets of batteries and timers which seemed to be connected in some weird way. Entering another room that closed them in, Ashley was the first to discover the source of the unpleasant odor.

"Oh no, you've got to be kidding me! Repulsive!" she cried out, covering her mouth, almost throwing up.

Hanging from a hook was a gutted pig's carcass.

"This can't be for eating." Chris replied with a grimace.

"Why the hell is it here?"

Chris shook his head in disgust. "It's like a goddamn grindhouse in here."

Amongst the other freaky things they found was a series of hooks and chains attached to the wall and, in quite a spooky fashion, a photo arrangement of all of them. They were more than glad to get out of that room, until they saw the next door.

Their journey led them to, of all things, a door smeared with blood.

"Oh crap, look at that..."

"Blood?!" Ashley gasped, worried.

Chris nodded, sharing her worries. "Might be Sam's... Let me see if I can get this."

He began trying to open the door, managing to do so, but seemed strained.

"Ugh, got it, but...damn, this thing is heavy."

Ashley stepped closer. "Be careful!"

"You gotta come through...Ash..." he told her. "I can't hold it... Ugh, come on..."

It was then that Ashley spotted motion in her peripheral vision and then saw a figure to her right.

"Oh, Chris!"

"What?" he grunted.

"I think I just saw Sam over there." she said quickly, pointing.

Chris shook his head. "Ash...are you SURE?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, but come on. I think we should check it out."

"Well, I'm pretty sure whoever's bleeding came through here, okay? So we really got to get moving, like, now!" Chris pointed out.

Ashley pondered briefly, but in the end, agreed with him. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I'm coming."

With that, they were able to slip through the door, which slammed shut behind them. They recovered quickly and began searching again until they came to a room with double doors. Opening them, they could see a figure slumped in a chair.

"Oh, Chris... Oh no..."

"Hello?" Chris called out hesitantly.

Ashley also did the same. "Sam?"

They approached the chair and Ashley turned it.

"Sam!" she cried out, but then paused. "I don't...I don't get it."

The figure in the chair wasn't Sam, but a mannequin that was wearing Sam's clothes. Ashley and Chris were both heavily confused and debating their discovery, both expressing extreme concern for Sam, when suddenly, Chris cried out.

"CHRIS!" Ashley screamed as she saw the Psycho attack him, gassing him to sleep. "OH SHIT!"

He then turned to her and began approaching.

"AHHH, NO!" she screamed, fumbling in her back pocket. "GET BACK! Stay the hell away from me!"

He raised the mouthpiece, ready to gas her in the same way. With a scream, Ashley was able to pull out the scissors and stab them into his shoulder.

"Oh, no, no, no..." he cried out in his distorted voice.

Ashley looked down at Chris, praying that she could do something.

"Live and learn."

"What?" she gasped, looking up.

The Psycho had recovered and with tremendous force, punched Ashley right in the face, knocking her out.

"Live..." he growled venomously, "...And learn."

* * *

Ashley groaned while Chris looked around frantically. They had both just woken up to find themselves in a rather bland room, except for the center, where they were. In the center was a table with two chairs. Ashley and Chris found themselves tied to these chairs, sitting across from one another. Ominously, a gun was situated on the table in front of them. Ashley was utterly helpless, strapped in and unable to get free. To Chris's surprise, his right hand had been left free.

"Oh shit... Oh crap..." he muttered, looking around. "Ash? ASH!"

She lifted her head to look at him and he gasped.

"Jesus, Ash. What did he do to you?"

Ashley was still dizzy and had only a vague recollection of the encounter. She was now sporting a heavy black eye, bruising all the way around her left eye.

"I think...he hit me." she choked out, wincing at the pain.

Chris growled, a suddenly feeling of rage building up inside him. "Shit, I'm gonna murder his fucking face off."

Ashley looked around frantically. "What is this?"

"This is him..." Chris realized. "This is the guy who killed Josh."

"No! Chris, oh my God, no!" Ashley screamed, realizing now that they had to be in some sort of death trap. "Oh God...Chris!"

Chris looked around, fuming. In his anger, he yelled out, "You murdering piece of shit! You MONSTER!"

"Look around!" Ashley cried out. "We're gonna die, Chris! I don't think I'm ready to die!"

Chris bit his lip. He had to calm her down. Strangely, it hurt him so much, seeing Ashley like this.

He gently held out his free hand. "No one is going to die." He tried to sound convincing.

Ashley looked at him, teary-eyed. "I wish I could tell you. It's just not fair!"

"What?" he asked, confused. "Tell me what?"

"It's too late! Chris, what's the point?!"

Chris shook his head, however. "Stop it, just say it..."

Ashley looked at him and through the terror and tears. Despite being tied to chairs and likely awaiting a death trap, Chris could honestly say that he saw something very familiar in Ashley's eyes. Something that he saw in his own, if he happened to even glance at a mirror while thinking about her.

"We're always talking around it." she choked out through her tears. "And now, I mean, we've wasted everything!"

Chris spoke softly, admitting the truth at last. "Ashley...none of it was wasted."

"What do you mean?"

"Every second that I spent with you was only thing I ever wanted to do with my time." he confessed, letting his voice carry his emotions.

"What are you saying, Chris?" She could scarcely believe it.

Was Chris truly admitting that he had feelings for her? Also, what a place for it!

"I'm sorry..." Chris said at last. "I should have told you how I felt."

"Chris!" she whispered, realizing the truth at last. Now they both did.

Chris nodded and began to talk. "Ashley, I swear, when we get out of this-"

But his words were cut short by a horribly familiar sound. They looked up in terror as two circular saws situated above them turned on and began their deadly high speed rotations, all the while slowly, but inexorably, descending towards them.

They both immediately panicked. Ashley tugged at her bonds, but they wouldn't budge. Chris tried to free himself with his unbound hand, but couldn't reach any of the knots.

"Oh God!"

"AHH!" Ashley screamed. "No! Help, Chris!"

He spoke swiftly but firmly, with renewed resolve. "Ashley...I'll get you out of this. I won't let you die!"

"Hello there, my special little subjects."

Ashley screamed and began sobbing as the Psycho spoke again. He was unseen, but no doubt watching.

"I'm so scared, Chris..." Ashley sobbed uncontrollably.

"Aw, shit..." he muttered before talking again. "Don't be scared."

The Psycho cut across him. "Oh, you should be, Ash. Because here's the twist: Chris has made one fatal choice already today."

Ashley panicked, losing whatever thin threads of resolve she had left.

"And now he must make another." the Psycho continued. "Chris, you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Ashley...or you can shoot yourself. Whoever is left can live. The choice is yours."

Chris froze, as did Ashley. It was, again, a choice of killing someone, as if Chris hadn't been put through enough tonight. But to lay the burden on him again?

Chris reacted at once, however. There was another choice. He grabbed the gun and aimed upwards, shooting at the saw, but it seemed like he missed, instead shooting out the light or the bullet simply ricocheted.

"Don't be so silly, Chris." the Psycho laughed.

Chris grit his teeth. The saws were descending, so he didn't have much time. It seemed that when he made his choice, either shooting himself or Ashley, the Psycho planned to stop the saws and whoever was left alive could go free.

Chris bit his lip. He couldn't believe that he was considering this.

'What is there to think about? It'll be messy, it'll hurt like fuck, but then it'll be over...' he told himself firmly. 'At least this way, Ash will live...'

Chris took a deep breath and lifted the gun, aiming it against his own head.

"Wait, stop!" Ashley screamed. "You can't do it, Chris. It should be me."

He gaped, staring at her, incredulous again.

She shook her head. "You chose to save me before. Let me choose this time. Let me choose to save you."

Chris understood what she meant. She wanted him to give her the gun so that she could do to herself what he planned to do to himself.

"Oh fuck!" he cried out. The saws were getting closer. They were running out of time.

"If I do one last thing in my life, let me do this!" Ashley insisted before desperation took over. "Chris, please. Oh god, NO, OH GOD!"

Chris remained frozen, hand trembling. He tried to bring the gun back to his head, but couldn't. With a short cry, he slammed the gun onto the table again.

The saws continued their descent and Ashley saw how close they were.

"NOOOO!"

Chris jerked in his seat as Ashley screamed a long blood-curdling scream.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	8. Chapter 7

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 7 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Breathing heavily, feeling terrified and helpless, Sam looked around anxiously. She was in a strange underground room, still clad in only her towel.

'Oh God, have I...? Please no…' she thought in a panic.

Simple but effective straps had secured her ankles and thighs, binding her legs together as she was on a wooden wheeled chair. Her wrists were also secured with straps, behind her back and behind the back of the chair. There was a gash on her left knee, covering it and part of her shin with blood. She was trapped. What disturbed her most was that there was a camera set up on a tripod nearby.

Sam had fight back a wave of revulsion. 'Shit, that's messed up. Am I... Urgh, surely that freak didn't...'

She shuddered at the mere thought of it.

"Sam?" She tensed, hearing someone whisper-shouting her name. "Sam, over here."

She looked around wildly until she spotted a floor-level wall vent. Through the bars, she saw a familiar face.

"Mike." she gasped. Mike motioned towards her, confusing her. "What?"

Mike grimaced and shook his head. "Get over here."

Realizing, Sam nodded and, gritting her teeth, began to push the chair towards the grate until she was level with it, her back to Mike, allowing Mike to use his lighter to burn away the straps binding her wrists.

With a sigh of relief, she took the lighter from Mike and began burning away the straps binding her legs until she was free.

"Man, those things were tight." Sam muttered as she turned and handed the lighter back to Mike.

She was now kneeling by the grate, holding the towel desperately to her body.

"Mike, thank God you found me." she burst out.

Mike nodded. "It's cool. You alright?"

Sam nodded, then realized that Mike was alone. "Wait, where's Jess? She's not with you?"

"Jess...Jess is dead." Mike admitted, downcast.

Sam froze, horrified.

There was a moment of silence before Mike snarled, "There's some psycho up here on the mountain with us. He killed Jess and I swear, once we're all safe, I'm gonna find that fucker and rip his nuts off, one at a goddamn time!"

Sam grimaced at that. "Listen, the guy you're talking about? He attacked me. He's the one who tied me up. He also showed me these videos and one of them showed Josh being ripped in half by some huge fucking saw blade."

"Jesus, shit." Mike hissed. "We've gotta get outta here and find the others. I can't get this door open. Do you think you can get it from your side?"

"I'll see." she replied, standing up.

She approached the door that she had seen earlier and retrieved her backpack, fixing the straps over her shoulders. She then exited through the door and looked to her left. Down a small flight of steps was the door that Mike had to have been talking about. She approached it quickly and saw a wooden plank jammed across it. She quickly removed the plank and pulled the door open. She smiled as Mike stepped through, covered in grime and dried blood.

"Hey..." he sighed, relieved.

"Jeez." Sam gasped. "You look like hell."

Mike laughed a little. "Nice to see you, too."

Sam just rolled her eyes and moved over to the other end of the room, moving behind some shelves which offered, sadly, only minimal cover.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Mike asked.

Sam replied sarcastically as she was able to finally clean the cut on her leg, as well as most of the blood. It had scabbed over, so hopefully, it wouldn't cause any more issues...unless it reopened.

"Well actually, the towel didn't turn out to be the best outfit for fighting off killer maniacs, you know?" She paused and then gestured for him to turn around. "Do you mind? Mike?"

Realizing quickly, Mike did just that. "Oh. Right. My bad."

He quickly turned around and Sam dropped the towel at last and began pulling her spare clothes out of her bag before pulling them on.

Before long, Sam had redressed in a simple white shirt, a red hooded jacket, gray yoga pants, and simple sneakers. A head torch was also part of the outfit, although she kept this slung around her neck for now.

"Okay, done. Let's put this thing to bed." she said at last.

Turning around, Mike joined her, nodding. "Amen to that."

They had yet to determine their next destination, however. But they soon got their answer when they heard screaming and Ashley's voice.

"Please!"

"I can't, I can't decide!" Chris's voice could be heard, too.

They each shared a worried look and ran to the door at the other end of the room where the screams had come from and soon forced the door open. They froze at the sight before them. Chris and Ashley were strapped to chairs on either side of a table. Above them, having stopped mere inches from their heads, were circular saws, still spinning. Chris had one hand free and was holding a gun. They both looked distraught and traumatized, both were bearing several injuries.

Then they all saw him. The Psycho stepped out of the shadows towards Chris and Ashley, who had been looking around in shock, most likely at still being alive, despite the death trap.

The Psycho ominously approached and Ashley cried out, "No!"

She shook her head, struggling desperately against her bonds. "No, no, no! Get away!"

Sam and Mike started to move forwards when Chris suddenly shot at the Psycho three times. They stopped and stared in disbelief, as the Psycho was unharmed.

"Oh, Chris..." he muttered in his distorted voice. "Oh, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris."

Chris shook his head in utter shock, looking at the gun. "What the fuck?!"

"You've heard of blanks before? I mean, really?" the Psycho replied, revealing the truth. The gun had been loaded with blanks the whole time.

It was then that the Psycho removed his terror clown mask, revealing his identity to the aghast friends, for it was none other than a very alive Joshua Washington.

Chris was the first to recover. "...Josh?" he spluttered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Josh burst out laughing as Sam yelled his name, anger seething through her. Mike also voiced Josh's name, sounding just as shocked as Chris.

"Oh, oh very good." he said, sounding overly cheerful. "Every one of you! Got my name! And after all you've been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean, how does that feel?"

During this time, Sam and Mike quickly untied Chris and Ashley and they all now stood, staring in shock and anger at their friend as he explained.

"Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked?" he queried, actually sounding a little crazed. "All those emotions that my sisters got to feel once one year ago? Only guess what? They didn't get to laugh it off! No! Nope! No, no, no! They're gone!"

By the end, he was laughing again, actually sounding completely unhinged. It was a veritable maelstrom of emotions for them all. Sam felt as if she had been violated all over again. Everything she endured at the hands of the Psycho, seeing her in the bath, chasing her as she had only a towel on, all of it was Josh. Ashley was in too much shock to really think or say anything while Chris could only feel betrayed, betrayed by his best friend.

Mike, meanwhile, replied angrily, "I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none of us are laughing."

Josh raised his arms and spoke. "Oh come, come-come-come-come. Why the long faces? Come on!"

He began to make expressive gestures while revealing his role in everything.

"It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right? And race they did, I mean, every one of you, just pitter-pat, pitter-pat! I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle!"

Ashley remembered how the candle had flared to life. Josh had set it up to do that.

"I mean, no detail too small! No opportunity missed!" Josh continued, remembering how he had created the ghosts. "It was such a delight to play the puppet master to all of your Pavlovian panic!

"And all that gore? I mean, there was gore galore!" he continued to brag. "Fake bodies! I mean, God, that shit was expensive!"

The others all shared a look. Yeah, they had fallen for it, been terrorized, but now it was just too far.

"And no retakes! Nope, nope, nope, only double takes! You should have seen your faces. Hook, line, and sinker for every little stinker!" Josh cried out.

He was clearly enjoying himself, feeling as if he had triumphed.

Sam shook her head, recalling everything that she had seen, regarding his actions with the group.

"Josh, your fingerprints were all over this." she replied. "It was obviously all you."

"Oh, really? Really, really, really?" he taunted.

Sam then elaborated on what she meant. "You're crying out for help, Josh... Come on, you wanted to get caught, didn't you?"

"Oh, sure. I'm totally just crying out for help. 'Help me! Oh, help me! Help, help.'" Josh taunted. "Come on! Come on! It was just for fun! I mean, so you got a little bit of egg on your face, right? Nobody got hurt-"

For Mike, that was the last straw. He snapped, "What are you talking about, you ass hat? Jessica is FUCKING DEAD."

"What?" Josh gasped, suddenly deflating.

The others all looked at Mike in horror as he moved towards Josh, reaching into his waistband to pull out a revolver.

"Did you hear me? Jessica is dead..." Mike growled. "And YOU ARE GONNA FUCKING PAY, YOU DICK!"

As he uttered the last word, Mike slammed the butt of the revolver into Josh's head, knocking him out cold.

* * *

Consciousness slowly returned to Leah. She opened her eyes, only to instantly be struck with dizziness. Her head was pounding from the blood rushing to it, and no wonder.

"Oh God! Oh my God!" she cried out. "Matt! Matt!"

He did not reply. She couldn't see him anywhere. The tower had fallen down the mines and she had fallen from the tower, which was once again wedged between some rocks. The only thing that had stopped her from plummeting to her death had been one of the support cables, which had tangled itself around her ankle.

She was hanging upside-down from the tower. "Oh...Jesus... Shit. OH, SHIT! Dammit!"

She could hear the ominous creaking of metal and the sounds of the cable and she knew that it wasn't good. She had to get out of her current predicament somehow. Looking around wildly, she spotted something that she prayed could help her.

'That ladder... If I can just reach it...' she told herself. 'Need to get across and grab it...'

She could just make out a ladder protruding horizontally from a ledge, level with her body. Praying that the cable would hold, Leah began using her body weight to swing back and forth, trying to build momentum, until finally, she was able to grab the very first rung. Just in time too, for at that moment, the cable snapped and she grunted as her body fell until she was hanging from the ladder, holding on for dear life.

She quickly composed herself, the creaking of metal told her that she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Alright..." she whispered encouragingly to herself. 'Let's go, I can do this, it's just like the climbing frame in gym class.'

She began to monkey bar her way across the ladder. As she neared the end, the ladder shook violently as an object from above struck it.

"Shit! Shit!" she cried as she lost her grip.

Luckily, there was a rock ledge not too far below. She landed on that and rolled over, groaning as she lay on her back. She quickly sat up, however, for above her, she could see that the remains of the fire tower were beginning to fall.

Before she could react, a rock fell and struck her shin. The sharp burst of agony nearly brought tears to her eyes. She began to push herself back using her hands and feet, remaining seated. Again, she had a narrow escape, for she just got clear of the ledge and into the cave before the tower finally fell, destroying the ledge and falling into the abyss.

"Oh God..." she muttered as she winced, examining her shin.

A deep cut had been left in her leg and her jeans had been ripped. She pushed herself up onto her feet and found that she could stand and the pain wasn't too bad as she walked. Running might be difficult, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

She turned and took a step into the cave, but it was pitch black inside. She looked around and saw a plank of wood and noted some flaming debris and an open oil drum. If she had something flammable, she could make a makeshift torch. She rubbed her shin and looked down at her sweater. It was the only thing available.

"Oh God, I hope this works." she muttered as she tore off a long strip from the hem of her sweater and began to wrap it around the stick.

Now that her makeshift torch was ready, she doused it in the oil and lit it on the flames. Now she had light.

"Alright, now we're talkin'."

Relieved that it worked, she began to make her way through the mine cavern. As she walked, she suddenly heard an unusual noise and flinched, looking around wildly.

"Hello…?" she called nervously.

No reply, and the noise didn't repeat. So she continued onwards until she found the path blocked by a wooden door that was chained shut.

'Great, now what? Hmm...' she thought, looking down and seeing the mine cart tracks.

Turning, she looked up the slope to see a mine cart braced near the top. She made her ascent, taking a moment to look around, in case she found anything else useful. But no, all she found was an old photo. Shaking her head, she approached the cart and, leaning over, pulled the brake lever and backed off. She watched in growing hope and then joy as the mine cart rolled down the hill and broke right through the sealed passage, giving her a way forward again.

She walked through the newly opened passage to find herself in a large chamber. Looking around, she saw something which gave her hope: an elevator. She approached and looked upwards. She couldn't see all the way up, but it looked like it led up to the surface, or at least very close to it.

'A way out!' she realized with hope.

But that hope was soon dashed as she tried to use it. "Shit..."

The elevator wouldn't move, for it had no power. But Leah could see the cables and knew it had to have a power source.

"Okay, how do I get this thing on?"

She had to find it. So, stepping off the elevator, lighting a small wall-mounted torch, she looked around. Just then, she heard a loud scream and, on one of the higher ledges, a burst of fire shot out.

"Ah!" she screamed. "What?! What the hell?"

Her heart wouldn't stop pounding and she moved with great care, not wanting to make too much noise. All she found down there was a clocking-in machine and danger signs, warning of structural collapse.

"Fuckin' busted elevator's my only way out." she muttered, fuming.

Of all the situations to end up in, she had to end up in this one. Stuck in some cold, dark, and frankly terrifying abandoned mine, only to find that they were not so abandoned and she wasn't sure who or what was out there. Deciding to brave her chances with the upper ledges, she approached a ladder, leading up to a wooden walkway, and began to climb.

Reaching the top of the ladder she set the torch down on the ledge and was about to pull herself up when suddenly, she heard a loud metallic snap and then screamed as the ladder broke, falling away and sending her tumbling down a slope to a lower level.

"Fuck!" she screamed out before hitting the ground. "Ugh... God damn..."

Winded, definitely bruised, along with her other injuries, Leah nevertheless pulled herself to her feet. She'd lost her light source. She had not wanted to do this, in order to conserve battery power, but she had no choice now. She pulled her phone out and turned on its light function, immediately illuminating a bunch of rotting skulls.

"NO!" she screamed, backing away in panic and disgust. "No, no, no!"

She tried to scramble back up the slope, but to no avail. "GROSS, GROSS, GROSS! Oh God."

She gave up and turned to see the skulls again. "UGH, disgusting!"

Grimacing, she forced herself to walk past them and continue on the path. Thankfully, it seemed like there was only one way that she could go.

She couldn't help but fret, however. 'I'm much deeper now, further from the surface, further from getting out of here, and...huh?'

She heard a sudden noise and, worried, she called out, "Matt…?"

No reply. She still wondered fearfully what had happened to him. Did he fall with the tower earlier, only to fall all the way down? That whole horrible scene kept playing in her head; What if he was dead? What if he had died trying to save her? She'd never forgive herself if anything happened to her brother.

'No, don't think like that, Leah.' she told herself. 'Matt's tough. It'll take more than this to kill him...'

All the same, the fear remained with her as she broke through some wooden planks that were blocking her path. She continued to explore the passage, looking for anything that would lead her back to that ledge that she needed to reach.

She did note a few odd things, as well another 1952 photo, this time a family photo of the same miner that she had found the photo of earlier. Biting her lip, she soon found herself forced to climb a small rock wall. She managed it well enough, but it caused pain to flare up in her injured leg again, just as it had died down to a dull throb she could control.

'Shit... Urgh, great... Okay, relax. Keep going, Leah. You can do this, you can do this.' she encouraged herself.

She finally found a ladder, which she was able to use to reach another tunnel, this one higher up. She continued to walk, looking around, just in case she ran into her brother.

"Matt?!" Nothing. Then suddenly, she saw the light flickering.

"Huh? Oh no..." She shook her phone, but it was no use. "Come-on-for-fuck-sake!"

She briefly saw the battery dying image before the phone went dead.

She growled, "Son of a bitch."

Just then, beyond the tunnels, she saw a burst of flame again.

"Jesus. Shit..." she whispered.

The fact that she was seeing this in the direction that she needed to go was what scared her the most. Nevertheless, she steeled herself and walked onwards.

She did not see the source of the fire, but she did see that she had made it to the ledge that she had tried to reach earlier, and there, on the ground, was her torch. Picking it up, she grinned and approached the switch that controlled the power. Flicking it, she saw lights turn on, flicker, and die, but she heard the sound of electricity and realized that the power was indeed working.

"Oh my God. Finally, something works."

Relieved, she continued to follow the path into another tunnel, hoping to find another way down to the large chamber. It was then that she reached another cavern, one flooded with moonlight. She jogged forwards, trying not to jostle her injured leg too much.

"Yes, YES!" she cried out, seeing that she might not need the elevator after all.

She immediately began trying to climb the slope, but it was too steep and slippery to climb. She groaned.

"Shit." she muttered. So much for that.

She continued to look around the cavern. Two things stood out in the light of her torch. The first was a photo of Hannah, showing her black butterfly tattoo. The second was a pair of broken glasses.

"Hannah?" Leah gasped, realizing.

Hannah's personal items were down there. That cliff, she now realized, was the same one where she and Matt had been attacked by the deer.

'She was here...maybe Beth, too. They...God, they must have fallen down here...'

She shuddered at that thought and then noticed something else, partially hidden. She pulled aside the wooden planks blocking her sight and froze when she saw several marks on the rock face; tally marks and a date.

"That's...exactly a year ago..." she noticed out loud. "What does this mean?"

She had some guesses, but prayed that they were wrong. She continued out of the cavern, following the tunnels again. She nearly tripped over something. She glared at it, noticing that it was a piece of wood. But then she looked closer.

'It's...it's a cross. The kind used for a makeshift grave...' She wondered briefly who it was for, then sated that curiosity, lifting it up to read the name. "Beth? Oh Jesus."

She wished that she hadn't seen it now, for here it was. Cold, hard evidence. While there was nothing definite on Hannah yet, Beth was dead. Hannah was definitely down there, however, and moving around, for not far away from the cross was her locket. Suddenly more afraid than ever, with memories of that day flooding back to her, Leah was more desperate than ever to escape.

She hurried through, managing to squeeze past a partially opened door, and into the next room. She noticed what looked like a slumped over figure in the corner.

'Huh? Who is that? Are they…?'

She carefully approached and touched the figure, briefly noticing that it was wearing a familiar beanie hat and pink coat.

The well-preserved, still recognizable, but unmistakably decomposing head of Beth Washington fell to the ground, revealing that the jacket was put around rocks, not her body.

"Oh God, oh God!" Leah screamed, stumbling backwards, revulsion overcoming her. "Beth, No... Oh God, Beth, no!"

She almost felt like throwing up. This was beyond horrific. What was Beth's head doing there and where was the rest of her body? Not only that, she was yet to see any signs of Hannah's body.

'The distance traveled, the objects, everything... Could it be?' she wondered. 'Beth died from falling off that cliff, but Hannah... She must have survived, at least for a while. She must have died elsewhere down here... Oh God...what have we done?'

With a sharp intake of breath, Leah forced herself to hurry onwards, for she soon found herself in the main chamber again and hurried to the elevator, pulling the lever at once and letting it take her up.

"Oh, come on! Let's GO!"

The elevator stopped before the surface, however.

"No!" she cried out. She was still stuck, but there had to be another way. Maybe another elevator?

She stepped off the elevator and moved forwards, but then retreated, stifling a gasp as she hid. Down the tunnel to her left, she had seen a man approaching. He was clad in dark clothing, had a scarf pulled up over his lower face, and goggles over his eyes. He had grey thinning shoulder-length hair. That was all that she really saw before hiding. That, and the fact that he was carrying a number of weapons, most prominently, a flamethrower, which was the source of the bursts of fire that she'd kept seeing.

She went stock still, watching as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the intersection. The light from her torch mingled with one on the wall, so she didn't need to hide it. She stayed stock still, watching him carefully.

"Oh God, please don't come this way." she whispered.

He did not move, he just kept looking, as if searching for something.

But it was too much for Leah. Her nerve broke and she fled. The stranger heard her and cried out, immediately pursuing her. She cried out too, silently pleading, trying to ignore the flaring pain in her leg.

Ahead, she could see that the bridge was broken in two places. Despite knowing the pain it would cause, she jumped both gaps, stifling a scream each time as it jolted her leg. As she ran, she could hear him pursuing her.

Up ahead, she noticed a spilled oil patch and, acting solely on instinct, she threw her torch into it as she passed, setting up what she hoped would be a fiery barricade. Unfortunately, her path took her to a dead end.

'What do I do? What do I do? I can't get away, I...' she thought frantically.

Unable to think, simply reacting, she hid herself in a crevice in the wall between two wooden boards and waited. But then the stranger reappeared and stood, looking around, before turning to look directly at her.

* * *

Chris sighed as he walked with Mike. They were roughly escorting a bound Josh to the shed. It had taken them quite a while to secure him and then find their way back out of the underground hotel to reach the main lodge. Sam and Ashley remained in the main room of the lodge, Sam doing her best to comfort Ashley, who was still recovering from her and Chris's near-death experience, even if it hadn't been designed to actually kill. Josh had woken up midway through their attempt to leave the hotel and that just made things harder.

"Guys!" he yelled as Mike shoved himself forwards. "Guys, come on... Seriously, this is crazy, you know?"

"Shut up." Mike replied, clearly fed up.

Chris glowered, however, his mind flashing back to seeing Ashley's face in that room, the horrible bruising around her left eye. The Psycho had done it and now he knew that the Psycho was Josh. That was what infuriated him the most. Josh, his best friend, had hit Ashley, the girl he loved.

"Why did ya hit her, man?!" he burst out, unable to contain his rage anymore. "Why'd you have to fucking hit her?!"

With that, he lost it and slugged Josh straight in the face. Josh crumpled to the ground and for once, Mike had to hold Chris back from inflicting further violence.

"What are you talking about?" Josh groaned as he managed to get into a sitting position, despite his bound hands.

Chris snarled. "You punched Ashley, you piece of shit!"

Josh looked down at his shoulder where Ashley had stabbed him with the scissors. "I got so mad..."

"You don't hit a girl. You just...don't." Chris snapped.

Josh looked up at him, clearly shocked by Chris' rage.

He shook his head. "Dude...dude, Chris. Bro, I..."

Chris cut him off sharply as Mike stepped forwards. "I'm not your bro!"

Mike was keeping his emotions in check a little better than Chris, so although he didn't say anything, he was just as mad at Josh as Chris was for what Josh had supposedly done to Jessica.

Mike forced Josh to his feet and forced him along the path again.

"Where are we going? Where are you guys taking me?" Josh demanded, still startled.

Mike glared at him and spoke darkly. "Locking you up, bro."

"What?!"

"So that you can't say or do anything stupid before we call the police in the morning." Mike explained.

"Come ON!" Josh complained bitterly. "I didn't DO ANYTHING!"

Chris shook his head, seriously getting tired of this. "Are you serious, bro?"

Mike didn't want to hear it, either. "You're a goddamned murderer!"

"I didn't do it." Josh snapped, before pleading, "Michael, please just listen to me, man! I did not hurt Jessica."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Are you insane? Like, really? Do you not understand what you've done?"

"I'm a healer, man. I bring people together, not like you assholes." Josh growled in response.

Rolling his eyes, Mike forced Josh onwards. "That's enough."

They began to approach the shed, the same shed where Josh had set up his first saw trap.

Josh continued to struggle and yell at them, while also protesting. "You only see what you wanna see! You're blind!"

"Stop talking." Mike replied blandly, seriously getting tired.

"You are- Argh!" Josh's words were cut short by Mike forcing him to the ground, hurting his injured shoulder.

Chris stopped, a little startled by Mike's sudden action.

"It's not my fault that you suckers can't take a joke!" Josh exclaimed.

Mike glared at him. "Oh, oh wait, did I hurt you? Did you just feel a little...a little bit of pain? Right now? I am SO...SO...SORRY."

As he raised his voice, he put more pressure on Josh's shoulder, making him scream.

"Stop it!"

"Jesus, dude." Chris gasped. He had punched Josh, but he had never intended to go this far.

"Stop... Michael, I'm sorry, man. I can't tell you how sorry I am that something happened to Jessica!" Josh yelled through the pain. "But I swear, I swear to you that I have no idea what happened to her."

Chris noted that Josh seemed to be relapsing between his usual self and a crazed version of himself, the result of not taking his meds. However, his anger overrode his pity.

"Josh, be honest with me. Do you really expect us to trust you for a single goddamned second after all of the shit that you put us through?"

There was a pause and Josh grimaced as Mike forced him back to his feet.

Josh grinned, slipping into crazy mode again. "Can't we all just get along?" he joked before Mike shoved him hard. "OW! DAMMIT!"

Mike made him walk, holding him at gunpoint. "We're not dicking around."

With that, he forced Josh into the shed. All the while, he was ranting.

"It's not right... Nope... This is not how it's supposed to go down... You're just a bunch of bullies... You can't hang out a guy just to dry like this, guys. Not like...not like you got the guts to really do anything about it, anyways!"

"You really, really, really need to shut up, man." Chris shot back.

He was still startled by Josh's behavior. He had seen some of Josh's mental breaks at times, but never anything this bad. How long had it been since Josh stopped taking his medication?

Josh glared as Mike forced him deeper into the shed. "Oh...that's...that's... I mean, I don't even know what you mean because I don't have anything to regret."

Chris rolled his eyes while Mike forced Josh onto a stool near a pole and they began trying to untie his hands and then retie them to the pole.

"Okay, tying me up now. Okay." Josh remarked sarcastically.

"Stay still, man." Mike growled.

"Right, right, right, right, still..." Josh replied before slipping into a mocking tone while wriggling. "Can't tie 'em up if they just wiggle around."

Chris let out an exasperated sigh. "Josh, dude-"

"Leave me a little wiggle room, huh?"

Mike glowered and pulled hard on the ties. As he did so, he snarled directly in Josh's face. "What does it take to shut you up?"

"Ow!" Josh glared at him as they both stood and stepped back. "Not so tight, okay? I can't wiggle around. Plastic ties. That's where it's at. Yeah."

"What...in God's name is he talking about?" Mike wondered aloud.

It became clear that Josh had slipped even further and was now talking to himself.

"Plastic ties, plastic ties. Way more effective for hostage type scenarios."

"This is hard to watch..." Chris admitted.

Mike nodded. "He ever say this kind of shit before?"

Josh, meanwhile, was still rambling. "Guaranteed for at least three hostages, or your money back!"

Chris sighed and again admitted the truth. "No, I've never seen him like this..."

"Everybody is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..." Josh mumbled before becoming coherent again and grinning wickedly. "Chris and Ash. Chris is an ass. Ashley's a dumb-dumb..."

Hearing that, Chris rounded on him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Josh giggled and replied, "I said you're a dummy, dummy."

Exasperated again, Chris shook his head. "What's wrong with you?"

Josh then began mocking Chris. "Oh Ashley...I never imagined in my wildest dreams that you'd like me!"

Chris shook his head. He wasn't about to let Josh play this game. "Stop..."

"You know what that sound is?" Josh asked in a high-pitched tone, before becoming aggressive, "It's the sound of never kissing Ashley, you pussy!"

"Stop!" Chris demanded. This was going too far.

But Josh simply kept on pushing his buttons. He looked from Chris to Mike, leering, his thoughts obvious as he spoke.

"Yeah, you know? You might as well let Ashley sleep with Mike. I mean, at least he's got some notches on his belt, you know?" He emphasized the next four words with vulgar pelvic thrusts. "He'll treat! Her! Right! YOU'RE FUCKING PATHETIC, CHRISTOPHER!"

That was the breaking point for Chris. He grabbed a nearby wooden board, raising it.

"I'm gonna beat his head off!" he growled.

Mike held him back, however. "Don't listen to him, it's not worth it."

It was then that Josh decided that it would be a good idea to antagonize Mike instead.

"Hey, Mike." he began, sniggering, as he repeated Mike's name several times.

"What?" Mike replied at last, clearly angry.

Josh looked somewhere between crazed and serious. "What happened with Jess, Mike?"

Mike narrowed his eyes at that. "You know what happened."

No...no...I don't. I got a problem, Mike..." Josh replied, "I don't remember killing Jess..."

Mike rolled his eyes, muttering as he turned away,

"I mean, like, I feel like I would remember killing her, you know?" he explained before leering again and adopting a suggestive tone. "She's so soft...and she's probably got, like, a really tight bod..."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Mike snapped, aiming at Josh with the gun.

Chris was startled, but didn't do anything. He trusted Mike. He wouldn't shoot Josh. He was proven right when Mike didn't actually fire.

"Ugh..." Josh groaned, before yelling, "You guys are the worst!"

"What?"

He shook his head. "Oh, come ON! You expect me to believe that you're gonna shoot me? Just little old me? Just little old me tied up here and helpless?"

Mike sighed and shook his head, turning back to Chris. "Why don't you go back to the lodge and make sure everyone's alright. I'll stay here with this lunatic until morning."

Josh grinned and replied jokingly again, sounding childish. "Oooh! Sleepover! C-can we order pizza?"

"You sure you're okay?" Chris asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah, just... They'll want to know that everything's fine back here."

"You're right." Chris replied. "See you in the morning."

So with that, Mike made himself comfortable, sitting down nearby. Chris dropped the wooden board and left, heading back to the lodge to tell Ashley and Sam that Josh was now secured. He just hoped that this was the end of it. It had been a hell of a night and he just wanted them all to be safe now. When the morning came, it would all be over.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	9. Chapter 8

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 8 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, yeah, it's pretty intense.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Leah whimpered as the stranger approached her. He reached out and seized her hand.

"Urgh!" he grunted as she lashed out, striking him.

"ARGH!" she screamed out, trying to get free.

He seemed to be glaring at her as he insisted, "Shh, quiet!"

"NO, STAY AWAY!"

Just then, there was an inhuman shriek. The man turned his head, let go of Leah's hand, and instead pulled a pack off his shoulder and threw it to her.

"Use these!" he told her, raising his flamethrower in the direction he had been looking. "And get the hell out of here...now!"

So startled was Leah by this, she stumbled backwards, falling onto her butt. She pushed herself further back, only to fall down a ledge. The man screamed as he fired his flamethrower.

"Whoa!" Leah cried as she fell.

When she finally landed on the ground on her back, she groaned, only to have the bag she had been given land and bounce off her stomach.

"What?!" she cried out, before forcing herself up. "Oh shit... Oh shit... Oh boy!"

Muttering to herself, she opened the bag and saw that it was full of flares. Seeing her chance, she pulled on from the bag, standing up on her feet, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah!" she cried out, lighting her flare. "Oh my God!"

She was in another tunnel. This one looked a little older, but thankfully, still seemed stable, or as stable as possible.

She took a deep breath to compose herself. "Alright, Leah..." she told herself. "Let's go."

She began her journey down the tunnel. The path was pretty straight, although the ground was uneven, and with her injured leg, Leah was soon walking with gritted teeth, trying to bear the pain. Eventually, she stopped. There was no direct path forward for her, with one exception. The wooden boards ahead of her were divided by a small gap. There was a narrow passage through.

"Okay, okay..." she told herself firmly. "This has gotta be the way."

So she carefully slipped inside and began shimmying along the gap.

"Shit! Shit!" she cried out suddenly as a monstrous clawed hand burst through the boards and swiped at her.

It passed mere inches in front of her face and she wasted no time, pushing off from the wall and sprinting down the next passage.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck! What was that? Oh no, it's chasing me.' she thought in a blind panic, hearing the screech and skittering noise behind her.

She began to cross a bridge, which was broken. She quickly leapt the gap but missed the second gap. Although she was able to reach the other side, she lost her flare. Silently cursing herself, she hurried onwards, glancing over her shoulder to see, to her shock, the monstrosity chasing her.

It was roughly human-sized and human-shaped, but it was most certainly not human. It was pale, its skin almost slick and shiny, it seemed completely hairless and naked, saved for tattered clothing that resembled panties. Its eyes were white, its teeth were razor sharp and its claws were the same. It moved on all fours and leapt around, climbing the walls and ceiling as it chased after Leah.

'Oh fuck! Oh God, no, please!'

With those desperate thoughts, Leah soon faced a dilemma when she reached a fork in the road and had to decide which way to turn. But she soon had the choice made for her when the monster leapt in front of her, blocking the right path. She turned and ran as fast as she could down the left path. To her great relief, she saw an elevator ahead. She prayed that this one would save her and she got on, pulling the lever and then pressing herself against the wall as it began to rise. Using this reprieve, she fought to catch her breath and calm down.

"Come on!" she told herself sternly. She was usually more composed than this, even in tense situations. "Breathe out...breathe in... Oh God, oh God... Snap out of it, Leah."

It was then that elevator ground to a halt, not reaching the surface, but certainly not that far from it. But the way it stopped terrified Leah. That wasn't a normal stop. She heard the skittering again, far too close. The thing was climbing on the outside of the elevator.

She went rigid and stood so stiff that she couldn't even tremble. Her heart pounded heavily and she could hardly hear over the blood pounding in her ears. But she knew roughly where it was, she could feel its rancid breath through a gap in the wood on the back of her neck. Finally, it faded and she heard the skittering fade away.

"Okay..." she sighed.

She began to run down the passageway ahead. It was then that she realized it was a trap. The thing had been lying in wait for her and now it pursued her again. Crying out, she ran as fast as she could, but it was gaining on her. Seeing a chain in front of her connected to a trapdoor, she pulled it as she passed. Rocks fell from above, temporarily halting the beast. But it continued its pursuit.

Tipping a barrel over, trying to slow it some more, Leah ran frantically. 'No, no, no please, don't let it! God, I don't wanna die!'

She pushed over a third barrel, only for this one to leak oil. She leapt back with a disgusted yelp. But then an idea struck her. She pulled another flare from her bag and lit it, throwing it onto the oil leak, creating a small fire. She then resumed her flight. Her path, however, terminated in a drop. Taking a chance, she jumped down, finding that the drop wasn't that steep. Still, she winced as a jolt of pain shot up her injured leg.

She wasted no time recovering, though. Ahead of her was a conveyor belt, possibly her only chance out of there as she could see that it led to a drop, but if she could jump the gap, she'd reach an upper ledge. Her only hope. So she yanked the lever and climbed onto the belt, which began moving slowly. But she couldn't wait, that thing would catch up to her at any second!

"Oh, come on..." she muttered as she began to crawl up the belt, hoping to expedite her progress.

She saw another belt and quickly leapt across to it before running up and then, remembering something, she stopped and turned, pulling out the flare gun and took aim. The monster leapt up, shrieking, and Leah fired. The monster screamed as it was struck and she turned and ran, bursting through the door, and she closed it and threw the bolt into place.

She turned again, facing away, there was no time to waste. She turned and ran, leaping across the gaps in the floor until she reached a power line. She spotted a bar hanging from the line and, taking the risk, used it as a zip-line, narrowly avoiding the beast pursuing her. She screamed as she escaped, until the zip-line broke and she landed in a heap in the snow below. She struggled to her feet and looked around wildly. Just then, she heard the shriek again. Terror seized her. That thing wasn't done with her yet!

* * *

Sheer terror pumping adrenaline through her veins, Leah ran through the snow in a blind panic, heading for the lodge, which she could see was getting closer with every step. She was sure that the monster was still right behind her. She screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed in her life.

Seated in the shed, watching over Josh, Mike heard the scream and leapt to his feet. "Oh crap, what now?" he muttered.

He immediately hurried out of the shed, running towards the lodge, too. Leah, meanwhile, having reached the front door, began frantically knocking and screaming.

"Let me in! Let me IN!"

From inside, Chris, Ashley, and Sam all leapt to their feet, hearing the noise.

"Is that...?" Ashley began.

Sam immediately cried out, "It's Leah!"

Chris nodded. "Let her in, quick!"

They rushed to the front door and opened it. Leah practically fell inside, still screaming.

"Shut the door! Oh my God, shut the door!"

Ashley and Sam dragged her further inside, while helping her to her feet. Meanwhile, Chris closed the door.

The four made their way back to the great room, guiding Leah to the sofa so that she could sit down.

"Leah, are you alright?" Chris asked worriedly.

Leah fought desperately for breath. "I didn't think I'd make it..."

Chris shook his head. "You were screaming bloody murder."

"Yeah..." Sam replied. "Are you okay?"

"You look totally wiped..."

Leah just groaned at Ashley's comment and tried to speak. Now that she was no longer running, the pain in her leg and from her other injuries was all catching up with her.

"There was something..."

But Ashley cut across her, asking, "Where's Matt?"

"Come, sit down, sit down." Sam said softly, helping her sit.

Leah nodded, finally able to relax, now that she was seated and amongst familiar faces.

Something's out there." she said at last.

Ashley was still on her question about Matt, however. "Did you guys split up?"

"A monster..." Leah blurted. "It's a monster!"

"Wait." With that single word, Chris managed to stop everyone talking over each other. He felt that now, they had a better chance of getting answers. Concern for Leah's well-being was his first priority.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gesturing to her injuries.

She shook her head. "I'm fine, I don't feel anything. I just need to calm down."

She paused for a moment before whispering, "It was moving so damn fast..."

"What was?"

"I just had to get away." she added.

"Away from what?" Sam asked, perplexed.

Leah shuddered and tried to explain. "Th-there was this thing, whatever it was..."

Misinterpreting her fears, Sam tried to reassure her. "Leah, Leah, you can relax. Josh was messing with us. But we-"

She shook her head vehemently. "You're not listening to me. It wasn't Josh!"

Chris bit his lip and then remembered what Ashley had been saying. It was true, Leah was alone.

"Wait, Leah..." he burst out. "Where's Matt? Is he okay?"

"Matt? Oh God..." Leah cried, out thinking of where her brother could be. "We couldn't use the cable car, so we climbed the radio tower and then it fell and we were down in the mine, like, way down. Down in this terrifying freaking mine shaft..."

"Hold on, hold on-"

Leah continued, however. "And then it was Matt and me down there and..." Tears started to form in her eyes as she realized,. "Oh God, I think that Matt might be dead."

"Wait, what?" Chris burst out as the others all gasped.

Sam choked out a single word. "How?"

Leah suddenly remembered, with revulsion, something important. Instead of answering Sam, she brought it up.

"I…I was walking down there in the mines and it was dark and I found this pile and there was Beth's head!"

They all gasped in horror and she repeated the fact that she had found it, more firmly seeing the disbelief in their faces.

"Oh my God..." Ashley choked out, shock and dismay overcoming her.

Chris shook his head. "What the fuck?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked in dismay.

"YES, I'm serious!" Leah snapped, before calming down. "I think that they fell down there. But the worst part is, I don't think Hannah died, like, from the fall, at least not right away."

"What do you mean?" Ashley burst out in horror.

Leah swallowed nervously before replying, "I don't know. I feel like she was down there... Like, starving to death...for weeks...when we were all up here looking for her. We had no idea!"

Chris shook his head. "Jesus, that's horrible..."

They felt into silence for a moment before Leah remembered, "Listen. In the tower there was a radio and I got through to someone. But that was right when the tower collapsed!"

She trailed off. She was trying to tell them that help was coming, but even she wasn't sure if it was.

It was then that Mike burst into the room, his eyes widening when he saw Leah.

"Leah, you made it!" he cried out.

She stood up and they hugged, both relieved. Leah had missed being embraced in his arms so badly ever since he broke up with her.

"Oh God, Mike..."

Mike looked around, worried again. "What about Matt?"

"We're trying to figure that out." Ashley explained.

"And there was this 'monster' that was chasing her..." Chris began.

Mike smiled softly, noting Leah's condition. "She's all messed up, guys. Leah? Hey, Leah?"

Before she could respond, a loud bang was heard. It was the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Whoa?"

"Who the fuck can that be?" Mike muttered.

"Josh?" Ashley suggested.

Chris looked over at Mike uneasily. "Jess?"

He shook his head. "It's not Jess."

"Sorry, man..." Chris replied, but then queried, "But who is it?"

"I don't know. We should check it out." Mike answered.

So with Chris agreeing, the duo made their way to the door and Mike pointed his gun at the door, cautious.

Chris took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna open the door. You ready?" He bit his lip and repeated, "You ready?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, just do it already. Whoever it is has probably gone by now."

Chris still stalled. "Unless you want me to take the gun?"

"No, no, no. I think that's less good. You do the door, I got the gun." Mike replied.

Chris nodded and approached the door. He had barely turned the handle when it was suddenly kicked open. Chris and Mike both cried out and tried to urge the sudden visitor to stop. It was an elderly man, grizzled with many scars, gray eyes and hair, and carrying a flamethrower.

"Freeze! Ahh!" Mike cried out as the stranger effortlessly disarmed him. "Alright. Alright, just it easy, grandpa..."

"Okay." the stranger spat in a thick accent. "Everybody just calm down. Now just move over there. Go on, move! Let me say what I came to say."

By this point, the boys had backed up and were all back in the great room, with the girls all staring in shock at the sudden new arrival, especially Leah. She recognized him as the man she had met down the mines.

Glaring at all of them, the man shook his head. "I'm here to tell you what you're up against, being back on this mountain. You should never have returned." he told them darkly, dropping his bag near the fireplace. "I don't know why you did, after what happened last year."

They all shared a look and Ashley nervously asked, "You mean Hannah and Beth?"

"Yeah, how could you know that without being involved?" Chris queried.

Sam, however, jumped in, glaring. "Or responsible?!"

"You hold onto your horses." the stranger spat. "I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain."

Mike scoffed at that. "Your mountain? I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that."

The stranger laughed at Mike's comment. "Well, this mountain don't belong to me, it's true." he admitted, but then added in a growl, "But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain...belongs to the Wendigo."

The was a stunned silence after that. They all shared a look, all voicing their confusion, pretty much asking what a Wendigo was. In the end, they had no choice. They decided to hear the old man out.

The stranger glared at them all, giving them enough time to notice that the flamethrower wasn't his only weapon. He was carrying a machete and a shotgun, too.

"Now, I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons why I want to...get it off my chest."

Mike jumped on that, however. "See? I told you! He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!"

Sam quickly cut in. "Shh. Shut up, Mike!"

The stranger had a faraway look in his eye as he began to tell his story. "There is a curse that dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods, the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."

There was a moment of horrible clarity for Mike, as he realized now, at last, that Josh was telling the truth. The strength of what had dragged Jess off, what he had seen, it was a Wendigo all along.

Leah was now sure that that was exactly what had chased her in the mines, too.

Looking at them all, the stranger warned them, "You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

"The basement might be okay." Sam suggested.

The stranger instructed them to go down and wait there. Leah reasoned that they would have to wait until dawn. That was when rescue was coming, after all.

It was while they were discussing this that Mike realized, to his horror, what he had done.

"Guys..." he gasped. "I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming."

The stranger turned to him at once. "Where did you leave him?"

Mike shuffled his feet and admitted, "In the shed."

The stranger gave a short snort. "Your friend will already be dead."

"No, no, he can't be." Chris burst out. "We were just with him!"

"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."

Chris wouldn't accept that, however. "No, I'm gonna go get him."

The others protested, Ashley most vehemently.

"I'm supposed to be his best friend and I let him down." Chris replied.

Ashley shook her head. "No, he let YOU down, Chris. He let all of us down!"

Chris didn't care, however. He still intended to go and, despite his initial unwillingness, he agreed to accompany the stranger with everybody else being sent to the basement. They began to make their way to the back door while everybody else headed down to the basement, except Ashley, who followed them.

After giving Chris his shotgun and a few warnings, the stranger stepped out into the snow. Chris was about to follow when he heard Ashley's voice.

"Hey..." He turned and she smiled softly. "Come back safe."

With that, she suddenly kissed him and, before he could say anything, she nodded and he followed the stranger while Ashley closed the door and watched them go.

On the walk to the shed, the stranger, at Chris's insistence, began to fill him in on Wendigos and their weaknesses. He was shocked to realize that the shotgun wouldn't kill them, only slow them down. Apparently, fire was their only weakness. They also had some patterns that they adhered to, like only hunting at night. Much of what Chris heard made him even more uneasy and not too happy about his chances.

"Any, uh, pro Wendigo tips?" he asked. "Like, if I rub garlic all over me, they won't be able to smell me or something?"

"No, they'll still smell you." the stranger replied disdainfully.

"Anything like that?"

The stranger grunted, but conceded that apparently, their vision was based on movement and, although he didn't recommend testing it out, standing perfectly still might make a person invisible to them.

It was then that they arrived at the shed, only to find the stool that Josh had been tied to empty and broken. Chris rushed to it and realized that they were too late. Chris was desperate to find Josh, but the stranger insisted that they leave, revealing to Chris that the Wendigos were fond of rendering their victims immobile and then stripping the skin from the body piece by piece and keeping them alive and aware while feasting on their organs. Chris was freaked out enough to finally agree to give up and they began to leave.

They had barely gone ten paces from the shed when the stranger whispered, "Wait, don't move."

Chris froze a second too late, as his foot came down on a twig that snapped.

The stranger reacted at once. "RUN! GO, NOW! NOW!"

Chris darted forwards, just as a monstrous creature leapt in front of him.

He leapt back in shock, crying out, "HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK?!"

The stranger blasted the Wendigo with his flamethrower, yelling out, "BACK, BACK!"

After warning Chris to get out of there, the stranger stepped back, raising his flamethrower again, when he suddenly let out a choked gurgle. Chris watched in horror as his body hit the ground, his head hitting it separately a second or so later.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." Chris gasped, shock almost setting in.

It was then, however, that he was forced to act, for the Wendigo then turned and lunged right at him.

He did the only thing that he could. He raised the shotgun and fired point-blank, right in its deformed face. It felt back with a shriek and Chris immediately took off running, desperate to reach the lodge before it was too late.

He hadn't gone far when the Wendigo returned, or maybe it was another one. He wasn't sure, but it leapt out in front of him. He fired and hit it. As it fell back, he ran until he reached a ledge and leapt off. He landed and cried out as pain flared up in his ankle. Looking up, he saw the Wendigo coming back for more. He shot again and ran as fast as he could, limping on his injured leg.

'Sprained ankle. It's gotta be a sprained ankle.' his thoughts raced, but then he saw ahead. 'Oh shit!'

The Wendigo was back for more again. But with his ankle injury, Chris was no match for it. The monster leapt on him and with devastating efficiency, severed his head from his body with its claws. It then turned and callously threw the head onto the porch, right in front of Ashley, who fell to her knees.

"NO, CHRIS!" she screamed in horror and dismay.

Mike hurried up. "Ashley, what- Holy shit!"

He saw the carnage and the approaching Wendigo and, despite his own sorrow, had no choice and quickly guided the broken Ashley to her feet and ushered her downstairs to the basement.

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the forest, a Wendigo made its way through the snow, dragging the unconscious body of Josh Washington behind it.

* * *

Still in shock from the recent terrors, Ashley and Mike managed to enter the basement room, making sure to close and bar the door behind them.

"Oh my God!" Leah gasped, seeing them. "Thank God!"

Sam also turned, relieved. "What took you so long? Wait, where's Chris?"

Ashley just burst into tears and Mike shook his head.

"He...he didn't make it."

"Oh God." Sam gasped, before turning to Ashley and trying to hug her. "Ash, I'm so..."

Ashley just pulled away, still in tears.

Sam looked around worriedly. "Hey, where's the flamethrower guy?"

Mike sighed. "No sign of him. I guess...I guess..."

He didn't need to finish, as they all realized the truth. The man was dead. They were all shocked and instantly scared. It was clear that the man was an expert on these Wendigos and they no doubt hoped that, with him on their side, they'd have a chance of survival. Now he was dead, which completely shattered their hopes. There was a stony silence as they all took this in, realizing what they felt was their best chance had been torn away.

Finally, Mike seemed to come to a decision as he paced around the room, looking around wildly.

"Alright." he said, sounding frantic. "These all the doors?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking for?"

He sighed and admitted, "Another way out."

"Mike..." Sam shook her head. "I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put, right here, until dawn. At least we're safe down here."

Mike turned to her, incredulous. "Oh yeah? All wrapped like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?"

Sam tried to reassure him, "People will come for us in the morning."

"You don't sound so sure."

She insisted. "That's what'll happen. Right, Leah?"

"Yeah, I mean…." Leah replied, looking to the others. "Right?"

Mike shook his head, stepping away. "Well, you can wait. I'm leaving."

"Mike, there's no key for the cable car." Leah warned him.

Mike bit his lip and thought for a moment. Finally, it dawned on him and he turned back to the others.

"Josh. He's gotta have it."

"Josh?" Sam queried.

Mike nodded. "One of his dirty little tricks."

Sam groaned. "Great..."

"If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh, then..." Mike sighed and shrugged. "We're shit outta luck."

"I don't know, Mike. It's possible..." Leah began, but trailed off. When questioned, she explained, "It may have taken him down to the mine. I saw some horrible stuff down there. I think it's where that thing lives..."

She trailed off again, noticing a collection of documents, which she began looking closely at.

"Leah, what?" Sam asked.

"Fuck it." Mike said at last. "I'm gonna get that key. Right from thing's goddamned bedroom and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here."

Before he could leave, however, he heard Sam and Leah talking and joined them at a work bench.

"Leah, what is all that?"

Leah replied, "It's that old guy's bag."

Mike then saw what they were looking at. "Is that a map?"

"This guy was prepared for anything." Sam noted.

"Not quite."

Leah shook her head. "What is this place?"

Some of the things on the map shocked them all. Ashley had joined them by now, but didn't speak. Sam then spotted something. It looked like a tunnel, but it was marked as dangerous.

"Wait, wait, wait, what is that?" she asked, disturbed.

Mike shook his head. He had passed the collapsed section on his back from the sanatorium.

"I was down there. It was horrible."

"You were?"

He began to relate the history of what he'd seen. The survivors of the mine collapse, what the reporter found out, the cover-up, and the fact that the owners knew that the mines were a death trap. Then also, the discovery of the restraining chair. The others gazed at him in utter shock.

"I'm just saying," he told them, "It's weird how much crazy shit's gone on up here."

Leah shook her head and pointed to the map. "What's weird is there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium. See?"

"That's how I got back here." Mike explained.

The others nodded and Leah remembered her own trip through the mines. "I saw this when I was down there. That's where it lives."

Mike sighed as he made up his mind and picked up his gun again, placing it in his waistband on his jeans.

"No one leave, okay? It's not safe out there." He turned and prepared to go and get Josh, to return to the Sanatorium where he hoped to find a way down to the part of the mines that he needed to get to. "I'll be back soon."

With that he left the basement. Leah silently hoped that this wouldn't be the last time she'd see him alive. Deep down, she still loved him and didn't want to lose him.

After Mike left, they all seemed to deflate. Leah lay flat out on the bench. Sam sat down near her, also looking relieved. Ashley bit her lip and slowly began to make her way over to the desk where all of the stranger's belongings were laid out.

"I thought that...that he was going to help us." Leah said sadly.

Sam turned to her. "Who? The flamethrower dude?"

"Now we don't have a chance."

Sam, however, shook her head. "No, it just means that we've got to be tough. We've gotta do this on our own."

"I don't know if I can. Not without Mike and Matt." Leah muttered in response.

Ashley sniffled and tried to distract herself and, spotting a journal of sorts, she began to read it. In it, she found that the stranger had documented everything he knew about the Wendigos, including some stuff he hadn't actually told them, such as how they could mimic humans, especially their voices, to lure prey to them. In truth, all of it was scary.

But then, Ashley found a page which caught her eye.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no..." she gasped as she read the passage again.

"What?" Sam insisted, hurrying over. "What is it? What does it say?"

Ashley turned to her, biting her lip. She then sighed and handed the journal over. Sam began reading the journal and realized something.

"Oh shit. Shit..." she gasped. "We gotta go find Mike."

She sounded so panicked that none of the others questioned her. They simply grabbed what they needed and followed her out of the basement.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	10. Chapter 9

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 9 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Yes, indeed.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Mike approached the doors to the Sanatorium towards the end of the tunnel. He never imagined that he'd end up back here again. He reached the door and opened it.

"Oof. Okay, okay, okay, what's the-" he muttered, having forgotten how stiff it was.

Finally in, he closed and locked the door behind him. He didn't want the others to be put at risk. He began retracing his steps, past the area that was still scorched from the explosion, some debris still smouldered. He made his way up the large stairs and began retracing his steps back to the chapel. When he finally reached the chapel, he stopped and looked around in surprise. The place was in even worse shape than before.

"Ho-lee shit." he whispered.

He looked around, noticing something that troubled him right away.

"Huh? What happened to the wolves?"

They were gone, but he continued his search. Most gated doors and regular doors were locked. On the far wall was a hole that led outside to a makeshift graveyard. All of the graves bore the same date. Shaking his head at yet another part of the 1952 mystery, Mike continued his search of the chapel until he found a way to get behind one of the gated doors; from above.

Inside, he found that it was a cramped storeroom used by the stranger. On a nearby table were things that he knew would be useful. He had a flashlight, true, but he pocketed it. The torch he found would be more useful as both a light and a weapon against the Wendigos. He lit the torch and picked up a pack of shells for a shotgun. By pure coincidence, there was also a sawed-off shotgun on the bench, too.

"Now I just need a pitchfork and a mob." he joked to himself, but shrugged. "Good enough."

Gathering everything, he managed to exit the storeroom and made his way to the other locked door, near the hole in the wall. Reaching the door, he readied himself and shot the lock off before kicking the door open. He entered into the new corridor and heard a noise. He tensed, but then relaxed and smiled.

"Hey, big guy!" he said cheerfully as a familiar wolf stepped into view. It was the wolf he had met earlier and befriended.

"Happy to see me again, huh?" he said as the wolf approached him, non-aggressively. "Heyyy, I was hopin' I'd run into you again."

He gently scratched the wolf behind the ears. He grinned as he did so, relieved to have some company.

"Alright, good boy... Alright pal, you're comin' with me." he said, standing up. "Alright, here's the plan. I happened to see a map of this place, so we're not flying blind. There should be a way into the psychiatric wing that'll take us right outside the mine. Think we can handle that?"

The wolf looked up at him and let out a small contented noise.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Atta boy."

So Mike found himself following the wolf as it actually began guiding him through the fenced outdoor path to another building of the Sanatorium, clearly signposted as the Psychiatric Ward and Restraining Area, the very place he was looking for. As they entered, however, a loud noise startled Mike. At the same time, Wolfie barked, sounding angry.

"Jesus Chri-" He composed himself quickly. "Okie dokie, boy. Calm down."

Wolfie just ran on ahead, getting past the door blocking their path, squeezing through a gap that Mike couldn't.

He sighed. "Wish I could move like you, Wolfie. I think I'm stuck on this side."

He tried a nearby lever, which partially opened the door. He was able to slide through, although he noticed that the door behind him was now closed. Continuing to make his way through the circular room, trying to find a way down to the center, he reached a staircase and made his way down.

Searching the area that he found himself in turned up only one thing of disturbing interest: a death certificate. Shaking his head, he left that office and continued to follow the path. This part of the Sanatorium at least did not look as bad as the other, but still in pretty bad shape.

"AH!" Mike cried when he rounded the corner. "Oh, son of a bitch."

Wolfie barked quietly, shuffling back as they both beheld the strung up, partially devoured carcass of Wolfie's fellow four-legged canine.

"Huh... Jesus Christ, what the fuck have I gotten myself into?" Mike muttered. "Fuck, man. This is truly disgusting."

Wolfie walked away, moving into the next area. Mike, however, noticed something to his left: an open cell door. He examined it, noting a few odd things.

"Huh... These doors were built like tanks. How crazy were these inmates?" he wondered aloud, before seeing the markings on the walls of that cell that looked disturbingly like claw marks.

"What went on here? This is nuts."

With a greatly uneasy feeling, Mike returned to following Wolfie as they made their way through the Sanatorium. Their long search through various corridors and rooms in varying stages of dilapidation turned up more clues, all of them disturbing.

The first discovery was an old film reel, which showed a miner transforming into a Wendigo. The transformation had been triggered deliberately, almost like an experiment, with the man restrained in the chair that Mike had seen in the morgue.

He also found a case study dossier, which detailed the discoveries in further detail. All of it made it clear that the miners that survived the collapse did so by eating those that did not and became Wendigos, subsequently breaking free and causing the mass destruction of the Sanatorium.

"Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake, this is fucking unbelievable." Mike muttered.

He continued to follow Wolfie's lead, stumbling across another clue. This one was a corpse with a suicide note. The final piece of the puzzle? The dead guy was the owner of the Sanatorium and the mine and it confirmed Mike's suspicions about what had happened. Not wanting to see anymore of this, Mike hurried and made his way into the next room, relieved to find himself on the ground floor, at the center of the structure at last.

Throughout his journey he had felt the ominous presence of being watched and now he heard a loud screech. He froze. It had to be a Wendigo.

Entering the wide room properly, Mike reacted as a can fell off a small container and shot it. He quickly loaded the shotgun again, shaking his head as it turned out to just be a rat. But then the Wendigo jumped down from the ceiling in front of him.

"Ha!" he cried, firing at it, striking it in the face. "How does that feel, you fuck?!"

He quickly ran onwards, following Wolfie, who led the way. The Wendigo recovered and began a close pursuit.

"Jesus, fuck, fuck!" Mike cried.

He reached a fork in the path and went left.

"Shit, shit, shit." he muttered as he closed the door behind him quickly.

"Okay... What the?" he gasped. His torch had died. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck...FUCK!"

He quickly barricaded the door with a nearby cabinet and hurried onwards. His flight was interrupted, however, by another Wendigo attack, but this one he fended off with his machete, lodging it in the creature's face. He ran onwards, soon closing another door and stopping. He was able to catch his breath and nod to Wolfie.

Relieved that the wolf was still with him, he managed a small smile.

"Good dog..." he said reassuringly. "It's okay, it's fine."

Wolfie suddenly darted away, seeking cover. Taking his cue, Mike did the same, just as a Wendigo jumped down and landed on a nearby table. It appeared that they were in a kitchen of sorts. Remembering what he had heard, Mike stopped moving and did his utmost to stay still. The Wendigo looked around warily, clearly searching for him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bottle rolling right above him. He quickly caught it as it fell, thankfully not giving himself away. Taking a chance while it was distracted, Mike ran into the next room, Wolfie by his side.

"Dammit... Alright." he growled under his breath. "Come on, you son of a bitch. Where are you?"

He was actually getting lower now, going underground. He could hear Wendigo screeches all around and it was freaking him out.

He was in what was clearly an isolation ward, with several cells. As he neared one of the cells, a Wendigo attempted to grab him but missed. Crying out, Mike leapt back and shot the Wendigo right in the face. He took off running, Wolfie still by his side.

"When is this shit gonna stop?!" he asked the wolf. "Jesus Chr- It's like a fucking bad dream."

He ducked as another Wendigo lashed out from its cell to attack him.

"Whoa, fuck this!"

He continued to run, dodging another attack. He grit his teeth and slowed down. Keeping his gun at the ready, fully loading it, he looked around warily.

"One at a time, boys." he quipped, trying to cover his nervousness, his heart pounding. "There's enough of me for all of ya."

He fired at another Wendigo after dodging its attack and ran onwards, ducking under another arm and then shooting another, just as he realized that this one was chained up and couldn't reach him.

"Oh Jesus... Oh Jesus... Fuck... Fuck, fuck."

He hurried away, dodging another attack and then shooting another before rounding a corner. Ahead, he saw the end of the restraining area hallway and, looking over his shoulder, a free Wendigo in pursuit.

Panicking, he tried to open the door. It only partially opened and the Wendigo jumped across the walls towards him.

"Dammit, not good!"

He quickly shot at it and then tipped over a barrel next to him. Just then, two more Wendigos began to leap towards him. He quickly pushed the barrel and, when it was level with them, he fired, blowing up the barrel and incinerating the Wendigos, although it knocked Mike back and he grunted, muttering to himself as he recovered, running away as the Wendigo spirits appeared and flew away.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

He recovered and managed to get through the door, closing and locking it again. He stopped and caught his breath. He was back in the main Psychiatric Ward. His path wasn't through there, it seemed. Not with those monsters now on the loose. Luckily, he knew of an alternate way in. However, on the way, he found himself pursued by another Wendigo.

He ran ahead and, seeing the locked door ahead, blasted it, managing to break though before barricading it and hurrying onwards, jumping down a hole. Looking up, he stopped. Wolfie was standing there, looking down at him. He was beyond relieved to see that the wolf had survived.

"Hey, buddy. Come on down, it's alright." he said, but Wolfie didn't move, and he understood.

"Okie dokie, bud. Catch ya on the flipside, huh?"

Wolfie leapt over the hole and padded away. Hoping he'd be alright, Mike hurried upstairs to the exit of the Sanatorium, but the door wouldn't open and a tell-tale shriek told him that another Wendigo was behind him.

He spun around, cursing, and fired at a nearby barrel. The room exploded and Mike leapt from it, right outside. The Sanatorium was now on fire and more and more shrieking could be heard. Recovering, Mike ran for the mines, unaware that one Wendigo, still on fire, was clawing its way out of the rubble.

* * *

Desperately pursuing Mike, Sam led the way. What she had seen in the stranger's journal had her worried enough that she was willing to abandon the relative safety of the basement for this. Ashley and Leah both followed her, all of them carrying flashlights to ensure that none of them were caught out in the dark.

"Come on, guys! Hurry up!" she insisted. "We gotta find Mike, come on."

Ashley trailed behind the others, still locked in despair about Chris. Her actions were just automatic now, with no real thought behind them.

Meanwhile, they continued onwards until eventually, they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. It was the door to the Sanatorium, according to the map they had seen. Sam tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh shit, Mike must have locked it behind him. CRAP!" She let out a frustrated groan. "There's gotta be another way in..."

They all looked around and that was when Ashley saw the manhole on the ground.

"Wait, what about this?" she asked, getting Sam's attention. "I mean, should, should we try it?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, it's not like we've got a whole lot of choices here."

Ashley conceded that point and, using a nearby pipe, was able to open the manhole cover and, together with Sam, was able to move it aside. Staring down the dank hole sent shivers down Ashley's spine.

"Okay, ugh... Okay, this is the last place I'd wanna be in right now." she muttered.

Sam just nodded. "So, who's going first?"

Ashley let out a short laugh and Leah smirked.

"After you."

Rolling her eyes, Sam began to slide her way into the hole and climb down the ladder.

"Not so bad." she commented. "You think this is the tunnel to the Sanatorium?"

"Of course it is." Ashley replied at once. "Where else would it go?"

Leah quickly followed Sam. Ashley paused, but then quickly gathered herself.

She then climbed down the ladder, heading into the caverns below. She looked around, using her flashlight to try and see. No other way to find the others except by going through the tunnels, it seemed.

She walked onwards, keeping her eyes and ears open. She couldn't deny that she was scared. Her heart was hammering again, but she kept going. After coming this far, she didn't want to let the others down by remaining in hiding like a coward.

"Help me!"

She jumped, upon hearing the voice.

"H-hello?" she called out, realizing that it was coming from a side passage. She'd have to climb through a gap and then jump down to reach the tunnel. "Who's there? Anybody?"

The voice screamed again and Ashley realized that it sounded familiar.

"Jessica? Is that you?"

The voice continued to scream and Ashley decided to investigate.

"This is fucking crazy. Jessica!"

She leapt down from the ledge and continued on the path, searching, calling out. She finally found the source of the noise. It sounded like Jess was screaming and banging on a trapdoor in the floor.

"Oh God..." Ashley muttered. "Oh no, no, no..."

She then lifted the trapdoor. Beneath it, apart from some more caves and a few pipes, there was nothing.

At least at first, before suddenly, to Ashley's horror, the very same beast that Leah had run away from in the mines leapt out. Ashley screamed, but before she could even try to move, it had grabbed her, one hand on top of her head, the other grasping her lower jaw. Its grip was like iron.

Her eyes went wide with horror as she saw, on the creature's right shoulder, a familiar black butterfly tattoo. In an instant, it all made sense to her.

'Hannah!'

But that would be the last thought to ever go through her mind. The creature twisted its hands and Ashley's scream was cut short. The next thing she knew, her head was on the ground, separate from her body.

The beast scooped up her head and dragged her decapitated corpse through the trapdoor, slamming it shut with an ominous boom.

* * *

Unaware of this, Sam and Leah soon reached what looked like an impassable cliff edge with a broken ladder visible near the top.

Sam sighed. "Wow, great."

"Oh shit. A dead end." Leah groaned.

Sam shook her head. "No, no, no, I think I can do it. It's like a rock wall. I'm gonna keep going."

"Are you serious?"

Sam had already begun to climb. "Ugh...get back to the lodge!"

Leah shook her head. "Uh...shouldn't we stick together? Sam!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, but I have to get to Mike...with you or without you!" Sam called back.

Leah sighed, but knew that there was no way she could keep up with her injured leg. She had to trust that Sam would find Mike.

"Just make it back, okay?!" she called out.

With that, she turned and, with a heavy heart, began her journey back to the lodge.

Looking at the wall before her, Sam carefully chose her starting point and began to climb up the wall. She paused and then, preparing herself, she set her feet on some rocks and pushed upwards, leaping to a higher ledge. She grabbed the wooden board, but it broke. She gave a short cry, but quickly recovered and held on.

"Urgh, come on." she muttered.

She forced herself upwards again, bracing her feet and making another leap, grabbing a broken structure before making another to a higher ledge.

"Come on, come on." she muttered, encouraging herself. "You can do it."

She climbed up the rocks until she finally reached the top of the wall. She grinned as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Hah, I beat you." she said breathlessly. "I fuckin' beat you."

Composing herself, she began to look around, using the light from her head-torch to guide her, keeping her hands free. She soon reached a gap in the path and opted to take the stairs to the right. She had only just got off the stairs when suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and then a smashing noise.

"Ahh!" she cried out, then saw that the stairs she had just used were now destroyed. "Jesus!"

Shaking her head, she continued onwards, desperate to find Mike, already afraid it was too late.

She stopped, however, when she heard a loud, strange noise.

"What was that?" she mumbled warily.

Her search to the top of the stairs didn't glean anything but a strange symbol on the wall and a skull. Shaking her head, a little creeped out, she turned to follow a different route, along some raised walkways. Suddenly, the cavern started to shake and she had to grab the railing to steady herself.

"Oh fuck!" she cried out. "Fuck!"

Rocks fell, both behind and in front of her, forcing her to jump the gap before hurrying off the walkway.

'This is getting really fucked up. Not good, not good at all…' she noted with concern.

Just then, she heard that noise again and shook her head, grabbing a nearby pipe for protection. Reaching another ledge, she carefully dropped down. At that moment, the metal door opposite her burst open and Mike came charging in, trying to slam the door behind him.

"Goddammit!" he cried.

"Mike!"

"Stay back there!" he shouted, as a Wendigo suddenly leapt out onto him, pinning him down.

The Wendigo appeared to be burning and now looked set, despite being wreathed in fire, to make Mike it's next meal.

"Holy shit!" Sam yelled, before charging forwards. "Hey! FATTY, OVER HERE!"

The creature shrieked and lifted its head towards her for a brief second. Sam could have sworn it actually looked offended by her words. She struck it with the pipe, then again for good measure. The flames faded and it finally went still. But that wasn't the end, for at that moment, a strange form burst out and flew away.

Mike quickly recovered, closing the door panting. Sam gasped for breath, too. Unfortunately, her pipe was now damaged and could no longer be used.

"Whoa...you alright?" Mike gasped.

Fighting for air, Sam laughed shortly. "Uh, define 'alright'."

Mike nodded understandingly. "Alive, for a start?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Sam replied. "Alive's good."

Mike shook his head. "The hell are you doing here, anyway?"

Sam bit her lip sheepishly, considering the encounter. "I was gonna warn you about the Wendigos."

"I think I got it." Mike replied with a short laugh.

Sam agreed and Mike continued. "Let's go. Let's find a way down to where this fucker lives."

Sam and Mike both left the area, deciding to search for Josh together.

* * *

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	11. Chapter 10

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Chapter 10 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Pretty much, yes.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Josh struggled desperately, trying to rise from the ground. His mind kept tormenting him. He was all alone and deeply afraid. He could hear the skittering and strange screeching that echoed nearby, then he heard something else, also echoing.

It was Hannah's voice, singing, "Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques. Dormez vous?"

He whimpered. His sister was haunting him again. "No, no, no, no..."

Then Beth's voice joined Hannah's, starting the song as Hannah continued. "Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques. Dormez vous?"

"Dormez vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding dang dong."

"No, no, no... Not again!" he moaned.

"Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding dang dong." Beth's singing continued as Hannah finished. "Ding dang dong."

Josh was on his feet by now, gripping his skull, which felt like it was about to burst. He staggered back and forth, pleading.

"Not again! Get away, get away!" he cried in desperation and terror. "Get away from me!"

Finally, Beth finished. "Ding dang dong."

His sisters' voices then dissolved into laughter as he covered his ears, tears streaming down his face.

Trying hard to compose himself, he cried out desperately, "No, you're dead!"

He soon became overwhelmed, hearing more voices.

"Sorry." Dr. Hill's tone was almost disparaging.

"You're dead!" Josh screamed in fear at his sisters, still haunting him.

Dr. Hill's voice continued. "You can't change what happened last year."

"Josh." Hannah called out.

"Shut up!"

"We miss you, Josh." Hannah's voice continued, undeterred.

Josh shook his head vehemently. "No! You're dead!"

Hannah's voice suddenly became menacing. "Come with us."

Josh shuddered and tried to get a sense of his surroundings, in order to find a way out of this nightmare.

Suddenly, Mike's voice echoed in his head too, followed by his own and then Chris's.

"A goddamn murderer is what you are!"

"...It's not ready..."

"You manipulated us!"

He shook his head in denial. "No, they're gonna love it..."

"You're a coward!" Chris's voice snapped. "Are you insane?!"

He heard his own voice again. "I just want us to have a good time. They're gonna love it when it's ready."

But it hadn't turned out that way. They'd overreacted and now he was stuck in this living nightmare.

He heard Ashley's voice screaming in his head, her cry of terror. Then suddenly, his own voice, distorted as the Psycho.

"Hello there!"

Josh shuddered and hissed, "I don't take orders from you... You can't tell me what to do..."

He heard Ashley again, from the time that they did the seance. "Josh! I don't know what's going on!"

Josh grit his teeth, hearing the Psycho again. "How does it make you feel?"

"You can't tell me what to do anymore..."

The Psycho just laughed. "Time has run out for Josh."

But soon, the voices began to fade and he felt something else. This new feeling, whatever it was, felt as if it was guiding him.

Hannah's voice echoed again. "Come with us."

"I trust you." he said at last.

Composing himself, he soon found himself standing, ready to try and find his way out of this nightmare. He stumbled along a nearby path, towards the edge of the cavern, seeking a way out.

Suddenly, however, Beth appeared, blocking the path. Her skin was heavily decayed, as expected of a corpse.

"Josh!"

He stumbled back, panicking again. "No! No, no, no, you're not real!"

Beth spoke again, her voice hoarse. "We were all alone down there..."

"No, no... No, no, not again."

He stumbled away, attempting to head the other way.

Unfortunately, this time, when Beth appeared, an equally decayed Hannah appeared alongside her.

"All alone." Hannah exclaimed. "But you're with us now."

"No!" he cried out. "Get away!"

"Family."

He tried to run away, down another path. "Get away from me! Get away!"

"Why didn't you save us, Josh?" Beth demanded in an accusatory tone. "Why did you want us to die?"

Josh shook his head desperately. "I didn't, I didn't want you to die, I swear!"

He stumbled away, trying to drown out the sounds of his sisters' voices. But when he stopped and opened his eyes again, he saw that the wall in front of him had taken on the appearance of pig skin and a knife cut through it, the head of a squealing pig emerging. Josh screamed and cried out before lashing out, punching the thing in the face.

As it hit the ground, he let out a sound of disgust, before panicking again as it began to writhe and turn into a gigantic pile of pig entrails, which suddenly morphed into Hannah and Beth again, now blood-stained and towering over him.

"Josh!"

"No, no, n-n-n-no... I don't... I don't take orders from you! No..." he pleaded.

Hannah suddenly reached up and ripped the skin off her face, revealing a skull. "Is this what you want?"

"NO, NO!" he screamed. "Why are you doing this?! Leave me alone! Why are you doing this?!"

Hannah suddenly began accusing him again. "Why didn't you save us, Josh? Why did you want us to die?"

"You're dead!" he screamed. "You're dead!"

Suddenly, he heard an unearthly screech and from within the walls, another face appeared, gaunt and stark white. Sightless eyes glared at him as its razor sharp teeth parted. Josh started at it in utter panic and disbelief.

* * *

Sam shook her head as she walked alongside Mike, searching for Josh. She did her best to ignore the sticky feeling against her shins, how her yoga pants now stuck to her shins. She had reopened or gained fresh wounds to her legs, as well as scratches on her right collarbone and up her neck a little. She also felt the two large scrapes on her right cheek and above her left eyebrow.

Mike now sported a black eye, several scratches and scrapes, and was covered in grime. Neither of them said much at first, both still reeling from their close encounter with the Wendigo.

"I was not prepared for how ugly that thing would be up close." she said at last.

"Yeah." Mike replied, hesitating briefly before continuing, "So, I noticed something kind of weird about it..."

Sam turned her head towards him, biting her lip, worried. "Uh...what?"

"The Wendigo, it had a scar."

"So?" she queried.

Mike sighed. "I've seen it before."

Sam stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw these old pictures of some guy with that same scar and he was transforming into a Wendigo." Mike explained.

Sam gasped. "You're kidding."

Mike nodded. "It was one of those miners who'd been trapped, back in the fifties, in the cave-in. Which means that thing is eighty years old, at least."

Sam shook her head and resumed walking. "Spunky for an old timer."

She just prayed that they'd find Josh soon. This was starting to fray even her nerves. This was all crazy, it had been the scariest and most nerve-jarring night of her life. The things she'd seen, the things she'd felt and endured, and the feelings of violation that she had felt were still lingering. She was certain that the others felt the same.

'Urgh, after all of this, if I get outta here alive, I just wanna crawl into a bed and not move for a week.' she thought.

She was drained, physically and mentally. But until she was able to help the others and get everybody out, she couldn't afford to rest. She relied on her adrenaline to keep her going, at least for now.

"They cleaned the place out..." Mike said at last, continuing their earlier conversation. "Killed a lot of people."

"They?" she asked, suddenly realizing just what he'd said. "You mean there are more of them?"

"Oh, yeah."

"How many?" she asked worriedly.

Mike's answer didn't help, either. "Too many."

Suppressing a shudder, Sam thought for a moment. "I think we're close to the lair."

"How can you tell?" he asked, incredulous.

"I don't know, I just..." she replied hesitantly. "Feel really terrible all of a sudden."

Mike sighed and replied honestly, "Ditto."

She shuddered and tried to focus on moving forwards.

Their path continued onwards until they found themselves at the edge of an underground lake, certainly going to be frigid cold.

"I really don't want to go in there." Sam muttered.

Mike shrugged. "There's no other way through."

But Sam wasn't convinced. She decided to see if the path to the right could get them around. As they walked, however, her hopes soon died. But then she saw something else.

"Mike, is that what I think it is?" she asked warily.

"Shit..." he muttered. "Looks like a grave."

Getting closer, they saw that it was indeed a grave. A grave that had been dug up. Something glinted in the center of it. Sam carefully stepped in and picked it up. Stepping back out of the grave, she and Mike examined the object. It was a wristwatch. Engraved on the back it were the initials B.W.

Sam gasped, recognizing it. "Oh God... Mike, this is Beth's! This is her watch!"

"What? Let me see..." he replied, shocked.

Sam then noticed and pointed out, "Look, there was a cross here."

"So this is where she was buried."

Sam looked at the desecrated grave. "But...who dug her up?"

Mike shuddered, disturbed. "Let's keep moving."

Sam quietly agreed and they returned to the ledge that they had approached earlier, by the waterside.

Sam cringed as she looked over the murky water before sitting down, Mike sitting next to her.

"Fine...I'm going in." she said at last.

But she hesitated. Mike just shook his head and slid into the water. He waded forwards a few steps.

"Come on, it's okay." he told her as reassuringly as he could.

Sam shook her head. "You sure?"

"I'm not dead yet."

"Famous last words." she replied casually. Still, she slid into the water and gasped audibly.

"It's freezing! I can't feel my fingers." she exclaimed.

Mike just nodded and they continued to wade through the water. Suddenly, Sam felt herself panic as the floor sloped down sharply, causing the water to get higher. Sam was soon in the water nearly up to her neck.

"Holy shit." Mike muttered. He wasn't quite as submerged.

Looking around worriedly, Sam grimaced. "Wait a minute, I thought you'd reached the deepest part."

Mike shook his head, turning his head towards her. "I didn't say that. I said it was okay, meaning, like, there weren't any sharks or anything in here."

"Sharks?" Sam groaned. "Great, thank you!"

Rolling her eyes, she was relieved to find that the path to the ledge was sloping upwards.

Reaching the ledge, she pulled herself out. Mike followed her and they looked around. Sadly, there was no way to go forwards from there. Sam shuddered and groaned, then spotted something on the ground. It was a journal. She picked it up and began to read through it.

'This is Hannah's handwriting. Huh, what's this…?' she thought to herself, before reading the entry aloud. "I'm sorry, Beth... I have no choice. It's the only way I can survive anymore. If someone finds this, I'm sorry. I had to... I had no choice."

"What does it mean" Mike whispered.

Flipping through the journal, she reached the last page, which was a mess of scrawls and suddenly, a disturbing thought reached Sam.

"Oh God... It makes sense..." She turned to Mike. "I think...Hannah dug up Beth. It was Hannah!"

Mike froze, catching the double meaning of her words. "No, that's...that's ridiculous."

He was thinking about what had been revealed by Leah, how she'd found Beth's head, but nothing else.

"Michael... Michael, it has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense. Beth died in the fall."

"So what? What does that mean?" he demanded.

"So Hannah must have buried her." Sam replied. "Hannah was down here for..."

"I don't believe any of this!"

Sam shook her head. "She would have been starving! She would have been desperate. We need to find Josh. Right now."

Mike sighed, but nodded, both of them now thoroughly freaked by their shared realization. They now knew just what had happened to Hannah on that fateful night a year ago.

They hurried back and slid back into the water, making their way across to the other side. Mike noticed something, however, which worried him.

"It's getting deeper."

Sam cringed. "Yeah, um..."

She was now up to her chin, but pushed on. A little further ahead, Mike spoke again, his words a relief to her in the frigid water.

"Okay, okay... Hey, it's sloping up again. We're gonna make it."

Relief flooded her, but she replied in desperation, "Oh my God, don't jinx it!"

Finally, they made it to the other side and climbed out, much to their relief. Quickly gathering themselves, they approached the metal door at the other end of the ledge. They attempted to open the door when it suddenly burst open. They reacted in surprise as water gushed from the door. Amongst the water, however, shocking them both and making Sam scream, was Jess's head.

"Jesus, she... Jee..." Mike stammered.

They slid through the door, suddenly dreading what they were going to find. Inside, in varying states of decay, hanging from the ceiling on meat hooks, were bodies. One of them they recognized right away as the stranger, even without his head. Worse, Jess's body was there too, as was Chris's and Ashley's. What neither of them saw was that in the water, watching them intently, was a Wendigo.

Still reeling from their discovery of the bodies, Mike suddenly heard something. He looked through a gap in the boards.

"Wait, hold on. I think I saw something."

Sam joined him and they looked carefully. At the other end, jabbering to himself, was Josh. Sam cried out his name as they found a door in the wooden wall and hurried through towards him.

"I don't take orders from you. You can't tell me what to do..." Josh was mumbling.

"Hey! Hey, Josh!" Mike called out.

They both shared a worried glance as Josh continued jabbering. They watched as Josh seemed to not even see them.

"What's the matter with him, Mike?" Sam asked, concerned.

Mike shook his head, recalling the incident in the shed. "He's tripping or something. Josh!"

As he shouted, he smacked Josh in the face. Josh staggered and blinked.

"M...Mike?"

"Josh... Hey, man." Mike replied, a little relived that he seemed himself again.

Josh shook his head, nearly whimpering. "Don't h-hit me, p-please-"

Mike shook his head. "You were deep in it, man. Full mental jacket."

"We didn't think we'd get you back..." Sam said softly. "Josh, do you have the key to the cable car?"

He quickly nodded. Josh handed over the key for the cable car to Sam and then she saw something. Light was coming from above, from a cliff wall.

"See that over there?" she said quickly. "That means there's a direct way out. C'mon."

Mike shook his head. "There's no way that Josh is gonna make it up there."

Josh just nodded, still looking a little out of it.

Sam thought for a moment. "Okay, if you can help me up, I can go back to tell the others we're okay. You bring Josh back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge.

"Yeah, yeah, good." Mike replied with a smile. "Be careful."

Sam nodded. "You, too."

With that, he gave Sam a boost and she began climbing the wall.

After watching Sam climb up the cliff wall until she was too far away, Mike turned to Josh.

"Alright, let's go, you fucked-up son of a bitch." Mike said as good-naturedly as he could.

Josh shuddered, but nodded, following Mike. He had almost lost hope, but now, here he was with one of his friends again. Or at least, he hoped he could still be considered a friend. At the very least, he was glad that they were guiding him out of this trap.

Rubbing his jaw Josh spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse. "You didn't...you didn't have to hit me so much, man."

Mike grimaced. "Ah, yeah. I'm sorry about before, man. I thought you killed Jess."

There was an uneasy silence before Mike sighed. "I was wrong."

Mike took a moment to compose himself, getting ready to enter the room full of bodies again. He glanced back at Josh, worried, before entering. As they entered, Josh's eyes went wide.

"No...No!" he cried out in horror.

Mike urged him to keep moving and they did. As they walked, however, Josh started muttering.

"I know, I know, I know, I know... Okay..." He seemed to be talking to himself again.

Mike, however, was able, at last, to guide him out of the room and they reached the water's edge.

Josh looked over at Mike, worried. Mike just nodded and hopped down into the water. Josh hesitantly followed and they began wading through the water, heading for the other side. Josh finally felt himself calming down as they progressed, slowly but surely. Things seemed to be getting better.

"Oh fu-!" Mike cried suddenly, before he was pulled under the water.

Josh froze, his heart hammering in his chest, mind racing. Then suddenly, a beastly creature leapt from the depths. It towered over him, sinewy and completely white eyes, apparently blind, teeth and razor sharp claws. It was the monster he'd seen in his nightmare.

"NO!" he screamed, trying back away. "You're not real! No, you're not..."

He was cut off when the monster grabbed him. Then he saw its right shoulder and saw something impossible. For there, on the monster's shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo, a very familiar black butterfly tattoo.

Josh was crushed as he realized, at last, who this monster was. "Hannah!"

The monster paused, staring at him for a moment, then suddenly picked him up and began to drag him away.

"Noooo, noooo!" he screamed, terrified.

But it was no use. The Wendigo, now revealed to be Hannah, was just too strong. Helpless and unable to save his friend, Mike remained covered behind the rock, seething at his own helplessness.

* * *

Matt grunted as he climbed over the metal fence, which had been partially blocking his path.

'Fuck, how long have I been down here?' he wondered to himself. 'Shit, everything's messed up. I can't find my way. Leah...'

He prayed for some miracle, for Leah to be alive, that the fall hadn't killed her.

Looking around, he found himself near a table, upon which was a lantern and a lighter. He smiled at the chance to finally have some light and quickly picked up the lighter, opened the lantern, and lit it. Satisfied, he put the lighter down, picked up the lantern, and turned. He looked around, worried, as he once again heard the strange shriek again.

He grimaced and forced himself onwards, worried. He walked in silence, except for the strange noises that seemed to echo all around him. He turned and made his way down another tunnel, this one mostly bare rock, until he reached some wooden walls. Suddenly, he heard the screech again, this time louder. It was closer.

"Huh?" Matt gasped.

Matt began to move quickly. "Fuck!"

He looked over his shoulder. Nothing was there, but he was sure that it was just a matter of time. He stopped and looked around. He could keep running or he could take cover behind a gap in the wooden wall.

"Which way?" he muttered.

The shriek getting closer made up his mind for him. He quickly moved into the gap behind the wall and pressed himself up against it. He could hear the skittering and screeching behind him and the ragged breathing of the creature, then it began to fade as it moved away.

"Alright, alright..." he said gently, praying that the creature couldn't hear him.

He gently moved out and began to move down the tunnel, a lot more wary now. Matt quickened his pace slightly, but not to a run.

As he turned another corner, he heard the screeching again.

"Shit!" he cried out in a panic. "Come on."

Looking back, he could see the creature leaping around the corner behind him. He then stopped, since the path split. He could go left and continue, or he could try and break through the wooden boards to his right, where he could see light filtering in. That was a deciding factor for him right away. So he barged through the boards, breaking them.

"Whoa!" he cried, as he nearly overbalanced, almost falling off the cliff.

He was outside now, the snow falling down. Seeing a ledge to his right, he moved carefully over to it. Once there, he stopped, staying as still as he dared. The creature leapt out and looked around, growling. But it didn't seem to see him and it finally turned and leapt back into the depths of the mines.

Matt let out a breath of relief. He then looked up in relief at the rising sun and heard the blessed sound of approaching helicopters.

* * *

Gritting her teeth, Sam clambered up until she reached a ledge large enough to stand on. She bent over, hands on her knees, as she gasped for breath. Recovering, she stood and looked upwards, biting her lip.

'Nearly there... Just this...last wall, then I'm up.' she told herself, as she examined the final portion of wall that she had yet to climb.

She knew that she couldn't delay any further. She had to get a move on. So, taking a risk, she jumped to grab one of the higher rocks. She caught it, was able to catch her foot in a niche, and then was able to grab another rock higher up and pulled herself upwards.

Looking around, she spotted an overhanging rock above her head. Tensing her muscles, she launched herself up again. Grabbing onto it, she hauled herself upwards until she had a good grip on the surface of the wall, her feet now also secure, with one on top of the overhang.

"Ugh..." she grunted with the effort. "Come on."

She looked up. She was very nearly at the top. Just a little further and she would be at the surface. She climbed around, grabbing a nearby branch, set her foot properly, and then grabbed the ledge above. She hauled herself up and then, panting, breathless, she stood, up at the surface, in the forest again, the snow falling around her. Shivering, she blew on her hands, trying to warm them up.

She shook her head. 'Pity that these clothes weren't suitable for this kind of weather. Still, just have to bear it. I'm nearly there.'

She knew the way back now, since she could see the lodge in the distance and, closer by, the shed. She immediately began walking. Standing still wouldn't help her here, she'd just freeze.

'Although, if a Wendigo comes along, it'll be my best defense... Freezing to death.' she thought, with a touch of dark humor. 'I don't think they'd like a Sam popsicle.'

She reached a brief divergence in the path, but both seemed to lead the same way, so she choose the right path and followed it. When they finally met, she stopped.

"Oh man..." she groaned.

She was at a lake, so she'd have to wade across. Just when she thought that she was done with that, just when she had finally dried off. Shaking her head, she dropped down into the lake and shrieked from the cold that instantly bit into her skin, soaking her clothes. She cringed and forced herself onwards, wading through the water towards the other end, when suddenly, she heard a loud noise. She paused and looked around, but nothing happened.

'Oh please don't say I'm getting paranoid now.' she thought worriedly.

Composing herself, she continued until she reached the other end and climbed out. Shivering uncontrollably, she moved onwards, wrapping her arms around herself.

She didn't dare stop until she reached a high ledge. She saw only one way down. Taking a deep breath, she began to slide down, but lost control.

"Whoa..." she cried out. "Oh shit!"

She grunted in pain as she reached the bottom, only to fall hard on the ground, on her stomach.

Groaning, she pushed herself upwards. She had to keep moving. Her walk was interrupted by the loud screech of a Wendigo, as if it was nearby. Instantly, panic seized her. She was so close to safety, she was at the shed.

She quickly made up her mind. 'Crap, gotta take the risk.'

She immediately took off running, going straight for the lodge. She looked over her shoulder desperately, fearful of pursuit. Looking forwards again, she barely had any time to react before ducking under the tree log.

"Shit!" she cried at her close call.

She quickly stopped, scoping out the area. She couldn't hear any more signs of pursuit, but she still had to get to the lodge quickly.

She continued to run, jumping down the next ledge and over a broken jar in the path. The lodge was within sight now. She ran up the stairs, onto the porch, and went straight for the door. But it was locked and she couldn't open it.

"HEY! HEY! COME ON, OPEN UP!" she cried out in a panic. "GUYS, COME ON! ARE YOU IN THERE?! LET ME IN!"

"Sam?"

She screamed and spun around.

"Shit, Mike!" she cried in relief before really looking at him. "Oh gosh, you look terrible."

Mike shook his head. "Gonna look worse if we stay out here. Come on!"

Sam looked around. There was no other way around it. She quickly picked up a rock from the ground and used it to smash one of the glass panes in the door. Through it, she was able to reach in and unlock the door. She and Mike quickly entered the lodge, stopping to catch their breath.

It was then that Sam realized that Mike was alone.

"Okay... Mike, w-what happened to Josh?" she asked fearfully.

Mike shook his head sadly. "It got him."

Sam grimaced. "Oh God, what an awful way to go..."

She shook her head and, acting automatically, flipped the lights on. But Mike quickly turned them back off, shaking his head. Sam quietly agreed and, after a brief discussion, they began making their way down to the basement, checking for the others.

"How do you rate our chances of survival?" Sam asked nervously.

Mike sighed. "I'm trying not to think about it."

It was then that they heard the screams. The door to the basement was open and they could see Leah running towards them. She made it out of the doorway just as the two Wendigos appeared and began approaching the door.

"Sam..." Mike called, warning. "Run...RUN!"

He turned and ran. Sam, however, quickly darted forwards and pulled the door shut, locking it. She heard the thumping as the Wendigos began striking at it. She just prayed that it would buy them some time as she ran after the others.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped dead. The others were already standing, rigid and terrified.

"Don't...move..." Mike whispered to her. "Don't fucking move a muscle."

Sam had no intentions of moving. For there, hanging from the large chandelier decoration in the middle of the great room, was a Wendigo, one that looked just like the one Leah described chased her in the mines.

Sam did her best not to move. No easy task, after her trip through the icy lake. The Wendigo snarled and partially turned. It was then that Sam's sharp eyes caught it. She heard Mike gasp and knew that he had seen it, too. She had been right all along. For there, on the Wendigo's right shoulder, was a black butterfly tattoo.

'Hannah...'

Just then, they heard the skittering and went tense all over again. The other two Wendigos were now there. Wendigo Hannah saw their movements and growled. As one of the Wendigos leapt somewhere out of sight, the other approached the middle of the room, just as Hannah leapt down and immediately tackled it. Soon, the two were struggling for dominance and Sam quickly glanced around. Mike was a few feet to her right, the others were further away, near the door, but spaced out. There was no way that they could all make it out together. Not like this.

Suddenly, the Wendigo screeched as Hannah threw it into the stairs, breaking them, and then against the fireplace. The Wendigo recovered and climbed the wall. Hannah quickly followed, both of them screeching and snapping at each other.

Mike's eyes were fixed on the broken gas pipe, however, leaking gas into the room. He remembered the information about the Wendigos' fatal weakness being fire. Right now, killing them was the only option left. It wouldn't be easy, they'd need someone to ignite the gas and whoever did it would more than likely be incinerated, too. Looking around, he spotted a bare light bulb. If he could just break it, they'd have the means to make a spark. The light switch was right by the door.

'It's crazy, but...but it's doable...' he told himself.

Glancing at Sam, he saw that she had been following the same line of thought. She nodded in agreement. They had a plan, now they just needed to put it into action.

The Wendigos resumed their fight until Hannah threw away the Wendigo that she had been attacking. The Wendigo that had disappeared from sight returned, leaping at her as she responded in kind. Both of them collided in mid-air, fell to the ground, and Hannah quickly recovered. Seizing the other Wendigo by the head, she smashed him repeatedly into the ground before simply pulling his head off.

Throughout this, Mike had been slowly edging his way towards the light bulb. Meanwhile, Sam stepped back, shocked and awed by the raw display of power, and terrified by it. She knew that if Hannah or any of the other Wendigos got a hold of her or any of the others, it was over for them. There would be no wriggling free, no last minute reprieve, just a quick, messy, and extremely painful death.

*CREAK*

Sam froze as she stepped on the floorboard. 'Crap.'

She immediately went still as Hannah turned to her and screeched. Sam remained as still as possible, no easy task due to her recent cold swim. Her muscles were aching to shiver, but she couldn't afford to. She resisted and resisted while Hannah stalked towards her, snarling.

Mike took advantage of this moment to reach the light bulb and, grunting with effort, squeezed it until it broke. The sound made Hannah screech again and spin around. Sam looked over desperately to where Leah was. She was close to the door, but she couldn't escape yet. Mike cringed as he looked back from where he had broken the light bulb, thus readying it. Hannah was approaching him.

Sam thought frantically. She had to act before it was too late. With the light bulb broken, they only needed to flick the switch and the building would explode. But she couldn't do that yet, not with her friends still inside. They'd be incinerated in the blast. She wasn't even sure that she had a chance to survive it, much less anyone else.

She saw Hannah closing in on Mike. 'Got to do something, now. Distract her, or anything.'

She knew it was risky. It would allow more gas to fill the room, the explosion would be larger possibly, but that was a risk that she had to take. She could only see one option. She had to get the Wendigo's attention back on herself and away from Mike.

"HEY!" she cried out as loud as she could.

With another screech, Hannah turned and stalked towards Sam. She did her utmost to stay still, despite the chill that seeped through her skin. She also prayed that the gas interfered with the Wendigo's sense of smell. It would be a bonus if it did. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leah making her escape. Now she just had to get Mike to safety. Acting purely on instinct, Sam reacted, running to a nearby pillar and pressing herself against it, making as much noise as possible.

'C'mon, c'mon, leave Mike and look for me.' she found herself desperately thinking.

The things that she did for her friends truly surprised her from time to time. She heard the footsteps and felt the Wendigo's breath as it drew up alongside her. As it turned away, Sam glanced out from behind the pillar and saw Mike right by the door. She nodded to him and he slowly exited. Now it was her turn.

Taking a deep breath, she did the only thing that she could: she ran straight for the light switch. She heard the screeching and knew that other Wendigo was chasing her. Desperation pumped massive amounts of adrenaline through her veins. She ran faster, everything pounding through her body. The beast behind her screeched louder. She didn't dare look, but she caught a flicker of movement out the corner of her eye, where Hannah had been, and then heard the fighting. Hannah had attacked the other Wendigo.

'Now or never!'

With a yell, she leapt forwards, hitting the light switch and propelling herself out the door. The explosion was deafening and made her grunt as the force of it hit her, causing her to be thrown back.

Inside, the Wendigos were incinerated. Outside, Sam groaned and slowly picked herself up from where she had landed in the snow. Mike slowly stood too, Leah standing just behind them. They stood, watching the lodge burn in silence as the sun rose, bringing daylight at last, and with it, the sound of helicopters approaching.

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End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


	12. Epilogue

**Until Dawn: Affairs of the Heart**

Final chapter of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.

**Reviews**

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.  
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.  
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)**

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.

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**Epilogue**

Leah sighed as she sat on the chair in the hospital corridor. She still could barely believe everything that had happened.

'How could I? This... What do I even...?' she began to wonder, before shaking her head. 'I can't believe they're gone. Chris, Ash...even Jess...'

Despite their mutual dislike of each other, Leah could not help but feel sorry for what had happened to Jess. Mike had told her about seeing her lifeless body. Nobody deserved to die in such a horrific fashion. Plus, she couldn't help but feel guilty over their lingering animosity for each other. With Jess dead, it would never be rectified and now, it instead lingered as a burning guilt in Leah's heart.

Even as she thought of this, her thoughts also went to Mike. She fidgeted in her seat. 'What could he even be thinking right now, after all he went through? After losing Jess like that? Could I...'

She shuddered, trying to push the thoughts away. But then, at that moment, she heard approaching footsteps and saw, to her great surprise, Mike. He had been at the other end of the corridor, talking to Matt and Sam, the only other survivors to make it off the mountain.

Following their talks with police, the truth finally came to light when the bodies of the others were found, as was Josh, who had become a Wendigo. It had been a brutal, direct, and yet remarkable bit of proof, yet it left them devastated to know what had become of Josh, despite all that he had done to them.

While Matt still stood, talking to Sam, Mike finally approached Leah and managed a tremulous smile.

"Leah, I..."

She shook her head. "Mike, I'm...I'm so sorry about Jess. I know..."

"Leah, this might seem out of place, but I... We need to talk. What happened to Jess, yes, it was tragic and I'll never get over that for as long as I live. But there's something else that I realized that night."

Leah paused at that, surprised. "What? What do you mean?"

Mike sighed. "Yes, it...it's about us, what happened between us."

"Mike, I hardly think that..."

"No, I have to say this! I was wrong." He revealed. "I was wrong when I chose to split up with you. You were... We were so well matched. I just let myself get distracted by Jess's beauty, so I never truly thought of the truth of what she was really like, compared to you. I never realized that there wasn't really anything between her and I."

Leah bit her lip. "Mike, I... To tell you the truth, I never stopped loving you after you dumped me. It hurt so much, seeing you with Jess, but...but I didn't want to..."

Mike smiled softly. "I made a terrible mistake by leaving you and I want to make things right. I just... If you don't think that we should..."

She smiled at that and, standing up, she pulled him close and they kissed deeply. Mike got the message clearly and kissed back.

As they separated, Mike said, "I love you, Leah. And I want to be with you again. I promise to never let you go."

"I love you, too." Leah replied. "And nothing would make me happier than to be with you; the boy that I love."

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Later, Matt approached Mike, leaving Leah and Sam to talk as they prepared to leave the hospital.

"Mike, we need to talk." he said quickly.

Mike nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's about Leah, right?"

Matt nodded. "Yes, you broke my sister's heart once before. Yet now, she just told me-"

"I know what you're gonna say, Matt." Mike remarked. "I did wrong by Leah and I admit it. I made a terrible mistake, one which I've finally realized. I love Leah and I realize now just how much she means to me."

Matt sighed, but he could tell that Mike was being genuine. Finally, he smiled. "Well, just...take care of her, okay? She's a much better girl for you than Jess could ever be."

"I know. I told that to Leah myself."

Mike smiled and nodded and finally, together, with hope for the future despite their dark memories, they left the hospital, ready for whatever came next.

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End of chapter and of story, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.


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